China says US bill on Taiwan ties threatens stability

REUTERS, 09th FEBRUARY, 2018- A U.S. bill that encourages reciprocal visits by U.S. and Taiwanese government officials threatens stability in the Taiwan Strait and the United States must withdraw it, China’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The bill passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations this week and will now move to the Senate.

Beijing considers democratic Taiwan to be a wayward province and integral part of “one China”, ineligible for state-to-state relations, and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The United States has no formal ties with Taiwan but is bound by law to help it defend itself and is the island’s main source of arms. China regularly says Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in its ties with Washington.

Speaking at a daily news briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said though the clauses in the bill are not legally binding they are a serious violation of the “one China” principle.

“If it is passed and put into effect, it will cause serious disturbances to Sino-U.S. relations and the situation in the Taiwan Strait,” Geng said.

“China is extremely dissatisfied and resolutely opposed to this and has already lodged stern representations with the U.S. side,” he added.

“The ‘One China’ principle is the political basis of Sino-U.S. relations.”