WASHINGTON, July 25. /TASS/. The United States should stop any form of support for separatist forces in Taiwan, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told TASS.
According to Liu Pengyu, Beijing has "repeatedly stressed that the [Taiwan] issue is China’s internal affairs, which brook no external interference."
"The US side should recognize the nature and calculation of the 'Taiwan independence,' separatist forces, grasp the serious harm they bring to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to China-US relations, adhere to the one China principle and the three Sino-US Joint Communiques, and stop supporting the 'Taiwan independence' forces in any form," the diplomat said.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the Communists took power. Official Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China. The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 and established relations with China. While recognizing the one-China policy, Washington continues to maintain contacts with the Taipei government. The US is Taiwan's main arms supplier.