Chinese defence minister's warning: 'Playing with fire on Taiwan question...'
William Lai for making stopovers in the United States calling him a «troublemaker», China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu on Tuesday cautioned against “playing with fire” when it comes to Taiwan, Chinese Defence Ministry reported. In an apparent attack at the US, Li cautioned any attempts to “use Taiwan to contain China,” and said it would “surely end in failure,” China's defence Ministry said in a statement and Xinhua news Agency quoted.
Speaking at the Moscow Conference on International Security, Li Shangfu has said reunification of Taiwan with the mainland was “inevitable.” «Li mentioned that the Taiwan question is China's internal affair that brooks no external interference. „The reunification of China is an inevitable historical trend,“ The Chinese Defence Ministry said in an official statement.
»Playing with fire on the Taiwan question and attempting to 'contain China with Taiwan' will undoubtedly end in failure," The statement quoted Li as saying. Li’s comments echoed previous statements by Chinese officials but the location of his speech was significant and symbolic given Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, as per CNN.
Meanwhile, Li’s comments on Taiwan come on the heels of a backlash from Beijing as Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai, a front-runner in the island’s upcoming presidential race, made planned stopovers in the United States during travel for an official visit to Paraguay. China’s foreign ministry condemned the stopover on Sunday, calling Lai a “troublemaker through and through.” In a speech to supporters at a lunch banquet in New York, Lai portrayed Taiwan’s long-term survival as something the international community should take an interest in.
Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
