“THAT China she is not going to make any concessions in her question TaiwanQin Gang, the head of Chinese diplomacy, said today, calling the Western criticism “absurd” and warning that it could have “dangerous consequences.”

China considered Taiwan a province until reunification with the mainland after the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

The Chinese military earlier in April held a three-day military exercise around the island in response to a U.S. meeting with Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in which Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, a “white funnel” to Beijing, belongs to the pro-independence party.

The European Union, the US and the G7 have warned Beijing not to challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

“He who plays with fire will get burned”

“We often hear statements from the outside that China is challenging the rules-based international order by trying to unilaterally change Taiwan by force or coercion,” Qin Gang said today.

“This logic is absurd and its implications are dangerous,” the Chinese foreign minister added during an event in Shanghai, condemning the West’s “definition” of the status quo, which aims to “encroach on China’s national sovereignty.”

Beijing has been putting increasing military and economic pressure on Taipei since Tsai Ing-wen came to power in 2016.

China is displeased with the ongoing aggravation of relations between the Taiwanese authorities and some Western governments, in particular the United States, in which it sees a threat to its territorial integrity.

“We will not make concessions to those who seek to harm China’s national sovereignty and security. Whoever plays with fire on the Taiwan issue will end up getting burned,” Qin Gang insisted.

Macron’s statement and criticism

In an interview with French financial newspaper Les Echos in early April, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe not to “follow” the US or China on the Taiwan issue.

“We don’t want to delve into the logic of blocs,” he added, implicitly, but clearly alluding to the United States.

The specific position of the French president in favor of European strategic autonomy has been criticized – on both sides of the Atlantic – by politicians and analysts who perceived this position as a criticism of Washington, Europe’s traditional partner.

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}