Beijing condemns US for receiving ‘troublemaking’ Taiwanese presidential front runner William Lai

Lai made a brief stopover in New York en route to Paraguay, prompting accusations that Washington was supporting separatists on the island
The Chinese foreign ministry accused US and Taiwanese officials of arranging for Lai to ‘engage in political activities’ during his visit

US-China relations

Cyril Ip

Published: 10:00pm, 13 Aug 2023

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Beijing has hit out at the United States for receiving William Lai Ching-te, the current Taiwanese vice-president and leading presidential contender, describing him as a “troublemaker” and accusing Washington of using the island to contain China.

Lai briefly entered New York on Saturday before leaving for Paraguay – one of the island’s last remaining diplomatic allies – for the inauguration of President Santiago Pena, who himself spent five days in Taiwan in July.

Three separate official statements condemned the visit, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying on Sunday: “We firmly oppose any visit by Taiwan independence separatists to the US … under whatever pretext, and we firmly oppose the US government having any form of official contact with the Taiwan region.”

Before returning to Taiwan, Lai will again pause in San Francisco on Wednesday.

Beijing said the stopovers reflect how Taipei’s efforts to solicit US support for Taiwanese independence have fuelled cross-strait tensions.

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In the past Taiwanese officials have used transits through the US to bolster the island’s international presence, most recently when President Tsai Ing-wen met House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California.

Beijing views such exchanges – as well as visits to the island by numerous US politicians, including McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi – as extremely provocative and destabilising.

“Lai Ching-te clings stubbornly to the separatist position for Taiwan independence. He is a troublemaker through and through,” the spokesperson said, echoing previous accusations that the politician will sell out the island to the US.

Beijing said the stopover was arranged by authorities from both sides for Lai to “engage in political activities in the US”.

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“We urge the US to … stop all forms of official interaction with Taiwan, stop conniving at and supporting Taiwan independence separatist forces and their separatist activities and stop fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle,” the ministry’s statement concluded.

The United States, in common with most countries, does not recognise Taiwan as independent but is opposed to any forcible change in the status quo.

The Chinese consulate general in New York accused the US of using “tricks” to “obscure and hollow out” the one-China principle, and of constantly challenging China’s red line by using “salami tactics”.

“The outrageous acts of flattering the US and betraying Taiwan and Taiwan compatriots will never succeed. Taiwan independence separatists will only find themselves disdained by all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation and condemned by history,” the consulate said.

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It warned that the “separatists” had “no scruples about betraying the greater national interest and Taiwan compatriots” and warned that such moves will only have “disastrous consequences” for both sides of the strait.

Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made similar remarks, saying Beijing “firmly opposed” Lai visiting the US “by any excuse” and any form of official exchanges “between the United States and China’s Taiwan region”.

The 63-year-old front runner has long been regarded as “deep green” – a reference to the more radical, pro-independence wing of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.

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But last month, in an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, he wrote that he has no plans to declare independence for Taiwan if elected the island’s next leader.

“I will support the cross-strait status quo – which is in the best interests of both the Republic of China, as Taiwan is formally known, and the international community,” he wrote.

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