BEIJING (Dispatches) – Chinese defense spokesman Wu Qian said on Thursday that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army is ready at all times to fight and smash any separatist attempts at “Taiwan independence” and to resolutely defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Qian said this at a press conference in response to a so-called “defense report” issued by the Taiwan authorities’ defense department.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and such a report makes no sense, he said.
The Democratic Progressive Party authority of Taiwan has been inciting hostility across the Taiwan Strait for its own political gain, colluding with external forces and making provocations by seeking “Taiwan independence”, he said.
Such acts have seriously harmed the welfare of Taiwan compatriots and severely damaged peace and stability across the Strait, Wu added.
The reunification of China is an irresistible historical process, he stressed, warning that “seeking independence by force” will prove a dead end.
While speaking at a briefing at the Foreign Ministry the same day, ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said China firmly opposes official interaction between the U.S. side and the Taiwan authorities in any form.
China has lodged solemn representations with the U.S. side in this regard, he said.
Certain officials from the United States should immediately stop making irresponsible remarks and sending wrong signals to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, he added.
On U.S. Under Secretary of State Jose W Fernandez’s allegations against China while talking about the outcomes of the so-called U.S.-Taiwan Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, Zhao said the U.S. is a peerless master of juggling economic, military, hostage and other sorts of coercion.
He warned U.S. officials that forming small cliques in the world and attempting to smear China by distorting facts will never succeed.

U.S. Lawmakers Meet With Taiwan President

Five U.S. lawmakers met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday in a surprise one-day visit intended to reaffirm the United States’ “rock solid” support for the self-governing island.
The bipartisan group of lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives arrived in Taiwan on Thursday night and planned to meet with senior leaders including Tsai, said the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto U.S. embassy. No further details were provided about their itinerary.
The visit comes as tensions between Taiwan and China have risen to their highest level in decades. Taiwan has been self-ruled since the two sides split during a civil war in 1949, but China considers the island part of its own territory.