US must not interfere in Taiwan issue, this is red line in relations with China

The Chinese authorities consider the Taiwan issue a red line, so Washington should not try to interfere in any way in its settlement, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang said on Tuesday.

"The Taiwan issue goes to the very core of our country's interests," he pointed out, speaking at a news conference during the annual sessions of the country's main deliberative and legislative bodies held this week in Beijing, "This is a red line in China-US relations that must not be crossed.  The reason why we are discussing the Taiwan issue with the American side is that we demand that they not interfere in China's domestic affairs."

As Qin Gang clarified, "no one should underestimate the determination of China and the Chinese people to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of their country." "If the US really wants peace in the Taiwan Strait, it should stop using Taiwan to contain China," he concluded.

Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled there after their defeat in the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the island has retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China which existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan one of the provinces of the People’s Republic of China.