China says Taiwan secession will ‘leave a stink for 10,000 years’
China’s top diplomat has said that Taiwanese separatists would “leave a stink for 10,000 years” as Beijing reacted to the re-election of President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday.
Tsai was re-elected by a landslide majority over the weekend on a platform of standing up to the mainland government.
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In her victory speech, Tsai said that Taiwan would not be threatened with Chinese intimidation, and that its people had a right to self-determination.
Speaking in Africa, Chinese State Councillor Wang Yi said that the international community had long accepted the “one China” principle that sees the island state as part of mainland China.
He said: “This consensus won’t alter a bit because of a local election on Taiwan, and will not be shaken because of the wrong words and actions of certain Western politicians.”
“Reunification across the Taiwan Strait is a historical inevitability”, he added.
The Chinese government has become increasingly focused on forcing the state to submit to Beijing, and has been particularly angered by the US’s support for the island’s independence.
Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, had congratulated Tsai on her victory “in the face of unrelenting pressure.”
The de facto US ambassador to Taipei, Brent Christensen, added: “This election serves as a reminder that the United States and Taiwan are not just partners; we are members of the same community of democracies, bonded by our shared values.”
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The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means for self-defence. In 2005, China passed an law which allows it to use force against the island state if it judges it to have seceded.
Taiwan insists that it is an independent country with the name of the Republic of China. In response to Wang, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said he “must face up to reality and stop believing his own lies”.