China’s ambassador to the UK urges London not to follow Washington’s lead on the issue

The Chinese envoy to the United Kingdom has warned that British and American interference on Taiwan could result in a war, claiming that Beijing’s ties with London are now at a crossroads over the island.

In a Guardian op-ed on Tuesday, Chinese ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang offered his government’s stance on the territorial feud, while declaring that Taiwan had become a “touchstone issue” for China, the US and the UK alike.

“Over the years, the US has been playing the ‘Taiwan card’ to contain China by approving arms sales to the island, upgrading its relations with the authorities there and hollowing out the one-China principle,” the envoy wrote, referring to a policy that discourages foreign states from forming diplomatic relations with Taipei, which has long been self-governed. 

‘Taiwan independence’ means war and will lead to a dead end. Opposing and defeating such attempts is meant to avoid war and safeguard peace and stability in the region.

Zheng also urged Britain to avoid following in the “footsteps of the US,” citing recent visits by senior American lawmakers to Taiwan, and noted that the island “has always been a sensitive matter at the center of relations between the UK and China.”

#China urges the #US to stop playing the "#Taiwan card" and not to go further down the path of creating crisis. There is no reason for the #UK to disregard that fact and follow in the footsteps of the US.
Read my article on the Guardian.https://t.co/TmUK3nAZGj pic.twitter.com/EdvLAZqa3Y

— Zheng Zeguang (@AmbZhengZeguang) August 17, 2022

The ambassador’s comments come amid a new round of Chinese military drills in the air and waters around Taiwan, mirroring another bout of exercises held immediately after a visit to Taiwan by US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss recently denounced the drills, saying they “threaten peace and stability in the region,” echoing similar condemnation from her American counterpart.

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Zheng likewise accused China’s rivals of disturbing regional peace by attempting to intervene on the Taiwan issue, warning of “serious consequences” if London “crosses the red line of the Chinese side.”

While China considers the island a part of its territory, Taiwan has been governed effectively autonomously since the Chinese Civil War in 1949, when the nationalist Kuomintang faction was defeated by communist forces on the mainland and was forced to flee. The local administration has continued to refer to the island as the “Republic of China” ever since, though it has been formally recognized by only a handful of foreign countries.