China strongly condemns U.S. arranging for Lai Ching-te's 'stopover,' lodges serious protests

China strongly condemns the U.S.'s approval of Taiwan regional leader Lai Ching-te's "stopover" and has lodged serious protests with the U.S. side, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Sunday in a statement.

It has been reported that Lai began his trip to so-called "diplomatic allies" in the Pacific and arrived in Hawaii for a "stopover."

"China firmly opposes any form of official interaction between the U.S. and the Taiwan region, firmly opposes any trip by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the U.S. in any name or under whatever pretext, and firmly opposes any form of U.S. connivance or support for 'Taiwan independence' separatists and their separatist activities," the spokesperson said. 

Noting the Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests and is the first red line that cannot be crossed in Sino-U.S. relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also urged the U.S. to keep the commitments made by its leaders, such as not supporting "Taiwan independence" and stopping having official interaction with the Taiwan region.

"China will closely follow the developments and take resolute and strong measures to defend our nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesperson said.

The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office on Sunday also clearly stated China's position on the Taiwan question, reiterating that China is firmly opposed to any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan and firmly opposes any trip by the leader of the Taiwan authorities to the U.S. in any name or under whatever pretext.

"This position is consistent and clear," Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said in the statement.

Chen pointed out that Lai's authorities have stubbornly stuck to the "Taiwan independence" stance, continuously making provocations and inciting cross-Strait confrontation, which gravely threatened peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits and seriously jeopardized the security and well-being of Taiwan compatriots.

No matter what tricks Lai's administration uses to seek "Taiwan independence," it cannot change the international community's basic pattern of adhering to the one-China principle, and it will not be able to stop the historical trend of the eventual reunification of China, the spokesperson stressed.

He urged the U.S. side to fully see the separatist nature of Lai and Democratic Progressive Party authorities and to exercise caution on the Taiwan question.