China: China has announced “resolute and forceful measures” to protect its sovereignty following Taiwanese Vice President Mr. William Lai’s brief visit to the United States.
The statement came hours after Mr. Lai arrived in New York for what was officially billed as a “transit stop en route to Paraguay.”
Mr. Lai, the frontrunner to be Taiwan’s next president at elections in January, is on his way to Paraguay to attend President-elect Mr. Santiago Pena’s inauguration. The Vice President is also scheduled to make a second stop in the US city of San Francisco on his way back to Taipei.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, issued the statement shortly after Mr. Lai landed in New York on a scheduled flight from Taipei.
“Mr. Lai stubbornly adheres to the separatist position of Taiwan independence and is a troublemaker through and through,” China’s Foreign Ministry stated.
“Taiwan is the core of China’s core interests, and facts have shown again and again that the reason for the rise in tensions in the Taiwan Strait is Taiwan trying to rely on the United States to seek independence,” the Ministry noted.
“China is closely following developments and will take resolute and vigorous measures to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statement added.
On landing in New York, Mr. Lai posted on the social media platform X that he was “happy to arrive at the Big Apple, an icon of liberty, democracy, and opportunities.”
The Vice President added that he was greeted at the airport by representatives of the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy for the island in the US, and said he was “looking forward to seeing friends and attending transit programs in New York.”
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