BEIJING, April 6. /TASS/. The Chinese authorities will take decisive measures to punish separatist forces for actions aimed at attaining Taiwan's independence, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council stated.
"This is yet another provocative act on the part of the Taiwanese Democratic Progressive Party’s administration, aimed at pursuing further collusion with the United States and relying on the US in a bid for independence," the office said in a statement on Thursday, following a meeting between US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese Administration Head Tsai Ing-wen.
"We strongly condemn and will take decisive measures to punish separatist forces and their actions aimed at ‘Taiwan’s independence,’ and we will resolutely defend [the] state sovereignty and territorial integrity" of China, the document reads.
The statement also points out that China "calls on the Democratic Progressive Party’s administration to abandon once and for all the idea of ‘Taiwan’s independence’ and refrain from going all the way on that dubious path, relying on the US in the issue of independence." Otherwise, any actions taken toward attaining independence for Taiwan will be "smashed into smithereens," the document warns.
On Wednesday, McCarthy held a meeting with Tsai, who is in transit through the US. After the meeting, McCarthy emphasized in particular the need to continue weapons sales to Taiwan. The Associated Press reported that "it was the first known meeting between a US House speaker and a Taiwanese president on American soil since the US broke off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan" in 1979.