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Nancy Pelosi's Taiwan visit

Beijing says visit by US congressional delegation to Taiwan violates China’s sovereignty

It is stated that China will take resolute measures and act effectively to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity

BEIJING, August 15. /TASS/. The visit by a US delegation to Taiwan undermines the one-China principle and is a violation of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing on Monday. China will respond resolutely, he warned.

"This is a gross violation of the one-China principle and of the provisions of joint Chinese-American communiques, as well as of China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. [The visit] also sends a wrong signal to separatist forces in Taiwan," the Chinese diplomat said.

"Putting national reunion to practice has been the shared will of the people of China and a historical trend that cannot be reversed, Wang Wenbin added. According to him, China is calling on the United States to respect the one-China principle to prevent "even more harm to Chinese-American relations."

China will take resolute measures and act effectively to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Wang Wenbin assured. The few among US politicians might be overestimating their influence by trying to support separatist forces that have been promoting independence for Taiwan and challenging the one-China principle, and they would certainly fail, the Chinese diplomat concluded.

US legislators headed by Senator Ed Markey arrived in Taiwan on a two-day visit late on Sunday. The five-member delegation includes Democratic and Republican representatives.

Tensions escalated in the Taiwan Strait following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei on August 2-3. In response, the Chinese military launched large-scale drills with firings of missiles in six areas around Taiwan.

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. Beijing views the island as one of its provinces.

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