Exclusive | ‘Life-or-death question’: US must grasp Taiwan’s importance to China, former envoy Cui Tiankai says
- The retired ambassador to Washington tells Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo that the island is a matter of national sovereignty for Beijing
- Cui voices confidence in Hong Kong’s ability to attract investment and its future as part of the Greater China market
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Why Taiwan is a ‘life-or-death question” for China | Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo
Speaking exclusively to the Post just ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s face-to-face talks to his American counterpart Joe Biden in San Francisco last week, China’s longest-serving ambassador to the United States also expressed confidence in Hong Kong’s future as an investment hub and international financial centre despite being caught up in geopolitical tensions.
“The Taiwan question is a matter of national sovereignty, territorial integrity and national unity. So this is something like a life-or-death question for China … there’s no room for concession,” he told Talking Post with Yonden Lhatoo.
“This is life and death for all Chinese. So we have to be prepared to do anything to defend our national sovereignty.”
Cui said Beijing would continue to seek reunification by peaceful means, and as long as the one-China principle was respected, “everything else is negotiable”.
But he warned of “limits” to how far the country could be provoked on this issue.