BEIJING, August 3. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities will necessarily take all possible counter-measures in response to the visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.
"Pelosi visited Taiwan, despite China’s persistent protests," the spokesperson told a press briefing, responding to a question by a Western reporter about whether Beijing’s sanctions against Washington would follow.
"China will take all necessary counter-measures to decisively protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesperson stressed.
Pelosi’s visit to Taipei "seriously undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait" and should be actually perceived "as a signal in support of Taiwanese separatists," she said.
"Washington and the supporters of the so-called independence of the island "will bear the entire responsibility" for Beijing’s counter-measures and sanctions against the United States, the spokesperson stressed.
"All [the international community] consider these actions [by Pelosi] as wrong and punishment should follow in response to them," Hua Chunying pointed out.
The US House speaker arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday evening, despite Beijing’s protests. The visit was the first trip by a US official of this rank in the past 25 years. China has repeatedly warned that the trip, should it take place, will not be left without consequences and harsh measures will follow.
Taiwan has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the Kuomintang’s remaining forces headed by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) were defeated in the Chinese Civil War and took refuge on the island. Taiwan has preserved the flag and several other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed before the Communists took over the mainland. According to China’s official position supported by most countries, including Russia, the Island of Taiwan is one of China’s provinces.