Vedant Patel, the principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated that the transits of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen are in line with Washington’s long-standing policy and that there is no need for Beijing to overreact to them.
Vedant Patel’s statement comes after the Chinese spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated that China vehemently opposes Tsai Ing-planned wen’s “transit” visit to the US in order to meet with US officials and will take firm countermeasures in such an event, according to CGTN. According to CNN, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen left for Central America on Wednesday for a 10-day trip that would include a stopover in the US. When asked about China’s announcement that there would be retaliation if the president of Taiwan met the speaker of the US House, Vedant Patel responded, “I would reiterate what I said at the top, that transits of the United States are based on long-standing US practice consistent with our unofficial nature of relations with Taiwan.
“There is no justification for counteraction. Beijing has no justification to misrepresent or overreact to this transit, which is in line with long-standing American policy. We reject any unilateral changes to the status quo from any side, as I’ve already said. We oppose Taiwan’s independence, and we continue to hope that disputes between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait may be settled peacefully, the official stated.
Vedant Patel said at the press conference’s opening comments that Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen would pass through New York City during the next days on her way to Central America. He said that Taiwan had also verified Tsai’s plans to travel through the US next week when she makes her way back to Taiwan through Los Angeles.
“During the following several days, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will pass via New York on her way to Central America. President Tsai will once again travel via the US on her return to Taiwan through Los Angeles, according to Taiwan, Vedant Patel said.
He said, “High-level Taiwanese officials’ trips are not visits. These are not brand-new, but they are secret and unauthorized. Every president of Taiwan has been via the US. Since assuming office in 2016, the president of Taiwan has been through the US six times. She will have made seven transits by then.
Vedant Patel emphasized that these transits have followed established US policy and stated that Washington’s “one-China” policy is unaffected by this. The Taiwan Relations Act, the three US-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances, he said, serve as the guiding principles for the US’s attitude to Taiwan and the transits of its top officials. This “one China policy” has been in place for a long time.
These transits have always been in accordance with established American practice, the informality of our ties with Taiwan, and the US “one China” policy, all of which have not altered.
“The US opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by any side, we do not advocate Taiwan independence, and we want cross-strait problems to be settled by peaceful methods,” Patel said in the news conference.
Zhu Fenglian made his comments in reaction to news reports that the president of Taiwan had scheduled stopovers in the US and would likely see Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the US House of Representatives. If Tsai contacts McCarthy, according to Zhu, it would be a significant violation of the one-China principle and another provocation, according to CGTN.
During a news conference on Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, said that China “firmly opposes any type of formal engagement between the US and the Taiwan area. We vehemently reject any trip to the US by the head of the Taiwanese government, regardless of the reason or title.
Mao Ning said, “We strongly oppose the US having any kind of interaction with the Taiwan government, which contradicts the one-China principle,” according to the statement made public by the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Regarding Tsai’s supposed layover in the US, China has frequently voiced its displeasure to the US side.
As former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year, China staged military exercises and fired a number of missiles in the vicinity of the island. The US and China’s bilateral relations were also damaged by her visit.
