China angry about American response to elections in Taiwan: “wrong signal” More than 500 right-wing extremists at torch relay in Paris

The Chinese government has officially complained to the US about Washington’s statement on the Taiwan elections. The US violated its own pledge to maintain only cultural and trade ties or other unofficial exchanges with Taiwan, the State Department announced in Beijing on Sunday. This sends “a wrong signal to the separatist forces” in Taiwan. The Taiwan issue is central to China’s core interests and represents the “first red line” that must not be crossed in China-US relations.

The US State Department sent congratulatory messages on Saturday after William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party won the presidential election. The U.S. State Department said it looks forward to working with Lai and leaders of all parties in Taiwan to advance shared interests and values ​​and advance the long-standing unofficial relationship. The US is a close ally of Taiwan and had promised defense assistance in the event of a conflict with China.

It was also announced on Sunday that an informal American delegation would visit Taiwan in the evening. As in previous elections, the U.S. government has asked former U.S. government officials to come to Taiwan privately, according to the American Institute in Taiwan, the unofficial U.S. representative in Taipei. Accordingly, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg left. Meetings with leading politicians are scheduled for Monday.

Lai won Saturday’s election with about 40 percent of the vote. However, his party lost its absolute majority in parliament. Like his predecessor Tsai Ing-wen, who was no longer allowed to run for office after two terms in office, Lai is considered critical of China. Relations with its powerful neighbor are tense because China counts the island as part of its territory, even though Taiwan has had an independent, democratically elected government for decades. Beijing invokes the one-China principle.

The Progressive Party, which considers China “separatist,” represents the so-called status quo, that is, the view that the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China, as Taiwan is officially called, do not belong together. (sda/dpa)