Mainland’s Taiwan affairs chief says Taiwanese people ‘should clearly understand the real purpose behind these US moves’
Beijing’s top Taiwan affairs official hit out at the United States on Sunday for playing the “Taiwan card” amid heightened tensions over trade, a day after two US warships passed through the Taiwan Strait.
Liu Jieyi, director of the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office and China’s former ambassador to the United Nations, said the US had been using this “card” for some time with a clear purpose, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.
“We staunchly oppose any move that harms China’s national interest. We won’t accept that,” Liu was quoted as saying on the sidelines of a forum on cross-strait ties in Hangzhou. “The Taiwanese public should clearly understand the real purpose behind these US moves and not help them to play the ‘Taiwan card’.”
Captain Charlie Brown, a spokesman for the US Pacific Fleet, said in a statement that two US Navy ships “conducted a routine transit through the international waters of the Taiwan Strait on July 7-8”.
“US Navy ships transit between the South China Sea and East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait and have done so for many years,” Brown said.
US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the destroyers USS Mustin and USS Benfold carried out the passage.
Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said the ships were moving in a northeastern direction, adding that the situation was in accordance with regulations.
Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring what it sees as a wayward province under its control.
