Beijing will not allow any "Taiwan independence" secessionist to split China, An Fengshan, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, said on Wednesday.The comment came against the backdrop of recent visits to Taiwan by two officials from the United States after US President Donald Trump signed a bill called the Taiwan Travel Act, which encourages reciprocal visits between Taiwan and the US by officials at all levels.Alex Wong, deputy assistant secretary of the US State Department's Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, visited Taiwan from March 20 to 22. Another US official, Ed Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman and a Republican, visited the island after Wong. The visits increased friction in cross-Straits relations.Beijing opposes the travel act and has urged the US to adhere to the one-China policy, and it initiated negotiations on the issue to urge the US to adhere to the three joint communiques that lay out the two countries' mutual understanding."The mainland's major principle toward Taiwan is clear and consistent," An said in response to a China Daily question about "armed reunification"."We will work in utmost sincerity and make our best effort to strive for peaceful reunification," An said. "Our determination to safeguard our country's territorial sovereignty is steadfast. We will not allow any 'Taiwan independence' force to separate the island from China."President Xi Jinping delivered a speech on March 20 at the closing meeting of the first session of the 13th National People's Congress in which he vowed to defeat secessionist attempts. The speech was seen as a strong warning to Taiwan."Any actions and tricks to split China are doomed to fail. And these separatists' actions will be met with the condemnation of the people and the punishment of history," Xi said.He also said that the Chinese people "have the resolve, the confidence and the ability to defeat secessionist attempts in any form".An article about the tactics of Taiwan reunification by military force - written by Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, a retired deputy commander of the former Nanjing Military Command of the People's Liberation Army - was published on the website of Global Times on Tuesday. Global Times is a subsidiary of People's Daily.At the end of the article, Wang introduced what he said would be his next topic concerning military action: "Taking Taiwan in less than three days".Zhu Songling, a professor of Taiwan studies at Beijing Union University, said, "Reunification cannot be stopped. It is China's domestic issue."The signing of the Taiwan Travel Act "greatly harmed cross-Straits and China-US relations", Zhu said. "We should realize it is not a good sign, and should pay more attention at the tactical level." wristband designpersonalized silicone wristbandsprinted braceletscheap custom wristbandscustom rubber band braceletscheap rubber wristbands24hourwristbands
SEOUL - South Korean residents and peace activists on Thursday demanded the complete retreat of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile interception system from their country. Dozens of people gathered outside the government complex in central Seoul, just 1-2 km away from the presidential Blue House, to call for the new government to pave the way for the complete retreat of the US missile shield. The protesters were composed of residents living near the THAAD deployment site and civic group activists who continued to conduct anti-THAAD demonstrations together with the residents. They told a press conference that the new government must stop all activities relevant to the THAAD deployment, urging it to open the way for the reversal of the THAAD installation by thoroughly investigating and reviewing the deployment process from the starting point. The demonstrators held posters that read "Look thoroughly into the illegal THAAD that does no good but harm," and "Reverse the THAAD deployment decision." The protest rally came a day after a senior Blue House official said that the already installed THAAD elements will inevitably remain though the deployment of four more mobile launchers will be halted until a green audit ends. Around two weeks before the country's presidential by-election on May 9, part of the THAAD elements, including radar and two mobile launchers, were transported in the middle of night to a golf course at Soseong-ri village in Seongju county, North Gyeongsang province. Four more THAAD launchers were delivered to an unidentified US military base in South Korea, but the delivery was not reported to President Moon Jae-in who took office on May 10.
