Beijing warned Taiwan it would cut off critical contacts with the island if its new President Tsai Ing-wen does not state her support for the concept that there is only “one China”, state media report
Beijing warned Taiwan it would cut off critical contacts with the island if its new President Tsai Ing-wen does not state her support for the concept that there is only āone Chinaā, state media reported on Saturday.
The comments came a day after Ms Tsai ā a Beijing-sceptic ā delivered her inauguration speech, where she called for āpositive dialogueā with the Chinese mainland, but stopped short of any compromise on Beijingās demands that she back its āone Chinaā principle.
That principle was recognised by outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party, who oversaw an eight-year rapprochement betw-een the former bitter rivals.
Although Taiwan is self-ruling after splitting with the mainland in 1949 following a civil war, it has never formally declared independence and Beijing still sees it as part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Ms Tsaiās Democratic Progressive Party is traditionally pro-independence.
Beijing and Taipei have held regular, official communications since 2014, but that will stop unless Ms Tsai acknowledges the ā1992 consensusā, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for for Chinaās Taiwan Affairs Office.