Shangri-La Dialogue: 'Anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will be destroyed', Dragon warns
Shangri-La Dialogue: The Taiwan question is in China's core interests and the One China principle has long become a universally recognized norm governing international relations. But what we are seeing now is that DPP officials in Taiwan are rapidly moving towards separation.
China's National Defense Minister Admiral Dong Jun warned that "external forces" encouraging Taiwanese separatists in an attempt to separate Taiwan from China. He said these malicious intentions are dragging Taiwan towards a dangerous situation. He said anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will be destroyed.
He accused officials of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of increasing Taiwan's separation and said they are bent on erasing Taiwan's Chinese identity. "China always respects the legitimate concerns of other countries and China's core interests are sacred and inviolable, and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity are sacred missions of the Chinese military," Dong Jun said on Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue's Plenary Session 5 on China's Attitude to Global Security.
The One China principle has long since established itself as a widely accepted standard governing international relations, and the Taiwan dispute is in China's best interests. However, it appears that Taiwan's DPP authorities are heading quickly in the direction of separatism. Their goal is to destroy Taiwan's Chinese identity and break social, cultural, and historical connections with China on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. The recent bigoted remarks made by those separatists are a betrayal of the Chinese people and their ancestors. History will make a mockery of them. The foreign powers are "hollowing out" the One-China principle, according to the Chinese defense minister, and they are still arming Taiwan.
Dong Jun said, "Some external interference forces keep undermining the One China principle with salami-slicing tactics, they have drafted Taiwan-related legislation and continue to sell weapons to Taiwan and are in illegal official contact with it. In fact, what they are doing is encouraging Taiwanese separatists in an attempt to separate Taiwan from China. These malicious intentions are dragging Taiwan into a dangerous situation. We will take firm actions to curb Taiwan's independence and ensure that such a plot never succeeds. Anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction." Responding to questions, Dong reiterated China's position that Taiwan is part of China. Dong's remarks came a week after China began a two-day military exercise around Taiwan.
