The Chinese embassy in Berlin reacted to criticism from Foreign Minister Baerbock with clear words. The links the threat to Taiwan to the Russian attack on Ukraine. The Chinese accuse her of intentional distortions and reaffirm her claim to the island republic.
China has again sharply criticized Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for her statements on the Taiwan conflict. In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Berlin accused her of “insinuations”, “deliberate distortion of facts” and interference in internal affairs. The message referred to a statement by the Green politician on Monday in New York.
There Baerbock said: “We don’t accept it if international law is broken and a larger neighbor attacks its smaller neighbor in violation of international law – and of course that also applies to China, especially these days.” In view of the “brutal Russian war of aggression” against Ukraine, it is important to make it clear that the world community will not accept it if a larger neighbor attacks a weaker neighbor.
The Chinese embassy stated that these statements lacked “any historical knowledge” and did not correspond to the facts. Taiwan is not a smaller neighbor of China, but a Chinese province. The Taiwan question is an internal matter of China. “Equating the Ukraine issue with the Taiwan issue constitutes a deliberate distortion of facts and interference in China’s internal affairs.”
The statement continued: “It is to be hoped that Germany, particularly the new generation of politicians who correctly and accurately understand the historical origins of the Taiwan issue, will distance themselves from US actions, honor their commitment to the one-China underpinned policies with concrete actions and carefully weighed their words and deeds with regard to the Taiwan issue.”
The statement also criticized the visit of the US top parliamentarian Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan and statements by the EU and the G7. European countries should consider whether to continue to support “the dangerous and provocative actions of the United States” and “drag the world into a swamp of confrontation,” the embassy writes.
The Chinese communist leadership in Beijing sees the democratic island as part of the People’s Republic and is threatening military conquest. Taiwan, on the other hand, sees itself as independent. The conflict goes back to the civil war in China: after being defeated by the communists, the national Chinese government fled to Taiwan with its troops. Since then, the island has been governed independently, while the communist People’s Republic was proclaimed in Beijing in 1949. With reference to the “One China Doctrine,” Beijing strictly rejects official contacts from other countries to Taipei. Because of the pressure from Beijing, only a few, mostly smaller, states recognize the island republic diplomatically.
