On Friday, China’s foreign minister increased threats against the independent island of Taiwan, warning those who do so are “playing with fire.” Beijing wants to take control of the island. The comments made by Qin Gang on Friday came at the conclusion of a speech in which he frequently complimented Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping’s Global Security Initiative while advocating for China’s role in the world economy and the interests of developing countries.
In his remarks on Friday at the Lanting Forum in Shanghai, Qin covered a wide range of topics, including Ukraine and Taiwan, which is self-ruled and where Beijing this month held three days of war games following a meeting between the president of the island, Tsai Ing-wen, and the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, in California.
“Recently, there has been the irrational language that accuses China of upsetting the status quo and causing instability across the Taiwan Strait,” Qin said. The conclusion is risky, and the argument is illogical.
“Fair-minded individuals, he continued, can see who is engaging in hegemonic bullying and high-minded practises.”
Beijing charges Tsai, who was initially elected in 2016 and re-elected with a landslide four years later, with being a “separatist” and working to cut off the territory in the global arena.
The president of the island, however, claims that the destiny of Taiwan rests with its citizens.
Beijing reaffirmed its willingness to use force to seize control of the island in a white paper published in August of last year.
The forces aiming to upset the status quo, according to Qin, are not from the Chinese mainland but rather from Taiwan and a few other nations.
In Taiwan, “those who experiment with fire will burn themselves soon.”
