Taiwan's flag was raised over its de facto embassy in Washington on New Year's Day for the first time since the US switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979.
US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday the US was "disappointed with the action" which violated a long-standing pact on US-Taiwan ties, and that it had not been informed in advance of the ceremony.
The United States has long held a one-China policy, and does not have full diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the self-ruled island Beijing still claims as part of its territory. Washington has a representative office in Taipei, while Taiwan maintains representation at a luxury estate in the US capital known as Twin Oaks.
China said it "resolutely opposed" the flag-raising and had lodged "solemn representations" with the US. "The Chinese side requests the American side to adhere to the one-China policy and the principles established by the three China-US joint communiques, act with discretion when dealing with Taiwan-related issues and avoid the recurrence of a similar incident," said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Monday.
China hoped the US "will not allow a similar incident to occur again", foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei added at a regular briefing Wednesday.
"This is an isolated incident. We regret that it caused the US inconvenience," Taiwan's deputy foreign minister Andrew Kao told a parliamentary session Wednesday. "We have an understanding (with the US) and we will continue to enhance communication."
De facto ambassador Shen Lyu-shun, who made the decision to raise the flag, was subject to fierce grilling in the session but defended the move. "There is no setback in relations," Shen said. "The US understood that we did not notify them in advance out of goodwill... so the US wouldn't be in a difficult position if China lodged a protest."
It is a tradition in Taiwan to hold a flag-raising ceremony on January 1 to mark the founding day of the Republic of China, the island's formal name............AFP...................http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/taiwan-regrets/1574522.html7/1/15
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Don't be so suspicious, China tells Taiwan over new air routes ...
ReplyDelete(Reuters) - China said Taiwan should not be so suspicious of its intentions on Wednesday after Taipei protested against Beijing's decision to open new domestic commercial air routes over the Taiwan Strait which separates the two diplomatic rivals.
The Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council said Taiwan must be "more understanding and less suspicious" of the four routes, state media said. Taiwan said on Tuesday it would step up air surveillance patrols in the Taiwan Strait in response "if necessary".
China deems Taiwan a renegade province and hasn't ruled out the use of force to take it back, particularly if the island makes a move toward independence. Beijing's "one China" policy holds that there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of it.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communication said in a statement on its website Tuesday that Beijing's decision to open the new routes, which go into effect on March 5, was "unilateral" and "not acceptable" and could increase flight safety risks, particularly around Taiwan's outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu..................http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/01/14/us-china-taiwan-idUSKBN0KN0UC20150114?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
14/1/15