China will take “revenge” if the Trump administration changes course on Taiwan and abandons the one-China policy, Chinese media reports.
“The U. S. and Taiwan should restrain, or be forced to restrain, themselves,” China’s Global Times, a nationalist publication produced by the Communist Party of China’s People’ Daily, asserted Sunday.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen made a transit stop in Houston this weekend before moving on to Latin America. During her stopover, Tsai met with GOP Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
She also spoke on the phone with Arizona Sen. John McCain.
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) needs to understand that in America we make decisions about meeting with visitors for ourselves,” Cruz said Sunday in a statement. “This is not about the PRC. This is about the U. S. relationship with Taiwan, an ally we are legally bound to defend. The Chinese do not give us veto power over those with whom they meet. We will continue to meet with anyone, including the Taiwanese, as we see fit.”
“We firmly oppose leaders of the Taiwan region, on the so-called basis of a transit visit, having any form of contact with U. S. officials and engaging in activities that interfere with and damage China-U. S. relations,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang said Monday.
Neither Trump nor any members of his transition team met with the Taiwanese president.
“Beijing does not need to feel grateful to Trump for not meeting Tsai,” the Global Times argued.”Sticking to [the one-China policy] is not a capricious request by China upon US presidents, but an obligation of US presidents to maintain China-US relations and respect the existing order of the Asia-Pacific.”
“If Trump reneges on the one-China policy after taking office, the Chinese people will demand the government to take revenge. There is no room for bargaining,” the paper added.
Trump rattled Beijing last month by accepting a phone call from the Taiwanese president. He then pushed China further by questioning the value of upholding the one-China policy, fueling fears that Tsai stirred up following her election last year.
China remains deeply concerned that the incoming administration will offer support to pro-independence forces in Taiwan.
“Any breach of the one-China principle runs counter to the historical trend. It is poisonous to the future development of the U. S.-China ties, the most important bilateral relations in the world,” Xinhua News Agency commented Monday.
“Playing tricks of developing ties with Beijing while showing affection for Taipei, which is contrary to the U. S. original intention of setting up diplomatic ties with China, could backfire,” the state-run outlet explained.
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