China will give a forceful response if Pelosi visits Taiwan | News

China reaffirmed on Tuesday that it will give a forceful response if the visit of the president of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan, which Beijing considers a province in rebellion, finally materializes.

READ ALSO:

Russian consortium Gazprom increases gas exports to China

Beijing’s position was reiterated by Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who said that her country is “closely following Pelosi’s itinerary and if the US acts ignoring the opinion of others, China will not hesitate to take action.” strong, forceful measures to defend its sovereignty and security interests”.

Hua reiterated that China resolutely opposes separatism, Taiwanese secession and foreign interference, and will “never leave room for maneuver to the forces advocating Taiwan independence.”

The US congressional delegation led by Pelosi (second in the US presidential line of succession) is expected to arrive in Taiwan on Tuesday night, in the middle of a tour that includes four Asian countries.

For weeks, the media have speculated whether Pelosi would go ahead with the stop in Taiwan and, in fact, the official program of the visit does not include the stop in the Chinese province.

On Monday, as has been almost customary since Pelosi’s Asian tour was announced, China warned that the visit would be an unacceptable violation of its sovereignty over the rebellious province.

He said on that day that the country’s armed forces will not “stand idly by” but will take “strong countermeasures to defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Taiwan and China were de facto divided in 1949 after a civil war, with defeated nationalist forces fleeing to Taiwan and establishing a government that usurped Chinese representation until 1975.

Beijing, home to the People’s Republic, regards Taiwan as a rogue province and the United States formally severed official relations with Taiwan in 1979 when it switched diplomatic recognition to China.

However, the United States continued to maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan and supplies it with defensive weapons as mandated by the US Congress.