China censures Taiwan leader's 'stopover' in US

China has denounced the Taiwan leader's "stopover" in the United States and urged Washington not to cross the "first red line" of Chinese Taipei's question.

According to Press TV, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing in Beijing on Thursday China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region.

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the US and the Taiwan region. We firmly oppose any visit by leader of the Taiwan authorities to the US in any name or under whatever pretext. And we firmly oppose the US having any form of official contact with the Taiwan authorities," Mao said.

"China strongly condemns the US for insisting on arranging Tsai Ing-wen to enter and stop at the US in disregard of China's solemn representations and repeated warnings."

Mao further stated that the US colluded with Chinese Taipei and arranged for Tsai to engage in political activities in the US under the guise of a stopover in a vain attempt to enhance official exchanges and substantive relations with the self-ruled island.

Such an act seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communique, and seriously damaged China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, sending a seriously wrong signal to 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, the spokeswoman said.

"This proves once again that the root cause of the new round of tensions across the Taiwan Strait is the repeated attempts of Taiwan authorities to rely on the US to seek independence, while some people in the US intend to use Taiwan to contain China," she said.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in New York Wednesday for an overseas trip that has triggered reprisal by China if she meets with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China has sovereignty over Taiwan. The US does not recognize Taiwan as a country and officially supports the "One China" policy but regularly oversteps its own principles. The island has become China's most sensitive territorial issue and a major bone of contention with Washington.

Washington continues to antagonize Beijing by siding with Taipei's secessionist administration, engaging in frequent military missions around the island, and serving as its largest weapons supplier. 

ME