By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, FEB. 16: Following the visit of a Taiwanese parliamentary delegation to India two days ago, Beijing has issued warning to its counterparts in New Delhi to not meddle in its affairs and respect the ‘One China policy’.
On Wednesday, a Chinese government mouthpiece has published a strong worded objection from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson who equated India’s move as “playing with fire.”
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang was quoted by PTI as saying, “We hope that India would understand and respect China’s core concerns and stick to the ‘One-China’ principle and prudently deal with Taiwan-related issues and maintain sound and steady development of India-China relations.”
The development comes after a similar dig by newly elected United States President Donald Trump who initially indicated that his administration may review the ‘One China Policy’. However following exchanges of political rhetoric as well as background talks between the two administrations, he later relented and assumed the status-quo of his predecessors on the same issue.
In response to the Chinese objection, Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Vikas Swarup on Wednesday played down the issue saying the visit was more a courtesy call on the Taiwanese delegation.
“We understand that a group of Taiwanese academics and business persons, including a couple of legislators, is visiting India. Such informal groups have visited India in the past as well for business, religious and tourist purposes. I understand that they do so to China as well. There is nothing new or unusual about such visits and political meanings should not be read into them,” he said.
The ‘One China Policy’ refers to the idea that there is only one state called China and that Taiwan is a break- away province and a part of the mainland. According to it, every nation seeking diplomatic ties with the China must break ties with Taiwan.
