Mainland slams Lai Ching-te's "transit" plan to U.S.

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday voiced firm opposition to any form of official interaction between the United States and China's Taiwan region, and denounced Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's attempt to "transit" through the United States under any pretext or in any form.

Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media query on Lai's scheduled visit to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize in August, with planned "transit" trips to New York and Dallas.

Chen urged the United States to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, to handle Taiwan-related issues with utmost prudence, and to refrain from sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

Chen noted that the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus of the international community and a fundamental norm of international relations.

He expressed hope that relevant Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries will recognize the general trend, prudently handle Taiwan-related issues, and join the China-LAC community of friendship and cooperation at an early date.

At the press conference, Chen also refuted recent accusations from Taiwan's mainland affairs council, which demanded an explanation over what it claimed was an "attack" by Chinese embassy staff in the Czech Republic on the motorcade of Hsiao Bi-khim, a politician with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), during her visit to Prague last year.

He stressed that the mainland firmly opposes any form of official interaction between China's Taiwan region and countries that have diplomatic ties with China, urging relevant countries to adhere to the one-China principle and not be swayed by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

"Chinese diplomats always observe the laws and regulations of host countries," Chen said, adding that the so-called "attack" is a complete fabrication.

He accused the DPP authorities of once again maliciously exploiting the incident to incite cross-Strait confrontation, warning that "no matter how many times a lie is repeated, it will not become the truth."

Chen reiterated that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.

"History cannot be rewritten, and facts cannot be distorted," he said, urging the U.S. side to stop pushing forward negative Taiwan-related bills and sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.