According to reports, Beijing warned the top US official that the front-runner in the Taipei race would spark fresh tensions.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing persons briefed on the situation, that Chinese officials have told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the activities of Taiwan’s “pro-independence” vice president, Lai Ching-te, could increase tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
According to reports, Blinken and President Xi Jinping spoke during Blinken’s recent trip to China.
According to the WSJ, Blinken was questioned about if Washington had “a vested interest” in the outcome of Taiwan’s next presidential election and whether it considered the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to be a friend.
According to reports, Blinken vowed that Washington would not let foreign involvement in the election and that the US will be “even-handed” in its handling of the vote.
Beijing has often charged the US with supporting “secessionist” politicians in Taipei because it sees Taiwan as its sovereign territory. American lawmakers have met with local officials despite the US’s decision to forgo formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Beijing views these interactions as a breach of the “One China” concept, as does the supply of US weaponry to Taiwan.
Following visits to Taiwan by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022 and by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to the US in March 2023, Beijing conducted extensive sudden military drills all around the island.
Lai, the front-runner in the polls for Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, formerly referred to himself as “a pragmatic political worker for Taiwanese independence.” Later, he made it clear that he wouldn’t try to alter Taiwan’s current political landscape.
Focus Taiwan quotes Lai as saying in January, “I would like to reiterate that Taiwan is already an independent and sovereign nation and thus we do not have to further declare Taiwan independence.”
Between June 18 and 19, Blinken visited China. Both parties had expressed cautious confidence about how the talks would turn out. Thoughts made by President Joe Biden, who called Xi a “dictator” shortly after Blinken’s return home, were severely rejected by Beijing.
