MOSCOW, August 10. /TASS/. US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was an outrageous provocation and a gross infringement on China's sovereignty, China’s Ambassador to Russia Zhang Hanhui has said. In a special interview granted to TASS Zhang stressed that the blame for the growing tensions around the island rested squarely on Washington.
"In defiance of China's strong protests and repeated warnings US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi ostentatiously visited Taiwan, thus causing the entire world community’s great surprise and unanimous condemnation. This challenging act was a blatant provocation and a gross infringement on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China, complete violation of the One China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, and an act of insanity, which caused soaring tensions in the Taiwan Strait and great harm to prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, and seriously undermined the political basis of Sino-US relations," Zhang said. "In this regard, China is taking resolute countermeasures. All consequences rest squarely upon the US side and the separatist forces advocating Taiwan’s so-called independence."
At the same time, Zhang stressed that the Taiwan issue was a purely internal affair of China. "Taiwan has been a territory of China since ancient times and it remains an integral part of our country. Taiwan is Chinese Taiwan, it belongs to the Chinese people, and the Taiwan issue is a purely internal affair of China," he said.
Taiwan issue
Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan on August 2-3 drew sharp criticism from mainland China. Beijing had repeatedly warned Washington that it would retaliate, if Pelosi, who occupies third place in the US government hierarchy, visited Taiwan. On August 4, the Chinese military began large-scale exercises, including rocket launches in six areas around Taiwan. These exercises were supposed to end at noon on Sunday (07:00 Moscow time), but, as China’s Defense Ministry said, they were prolonged indefinitely.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese civil war. Taipei has since retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China, which had existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. According Beijing’s official position, supported by most countries, including Russia, it is one of China’s provinces.