As Taiwan goes to the polls to elect a new president, China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the result will not fundamentally change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.
One China
During a regular press briefing by China’s Foreign Ministry on Jan. 12 (one day before the election), spokesperson Mao Ning was asked about recent comments made by an anonymous United States White House official.
Taiwan is electing a new president and legislature on Jan. 13, and the topic of China-U.S. tensions has been one of the major topics during the campaign.
The unnamed official was quoted as saying that the U.S. was committed to the One China policy, and did not support Taiwan independence, instead supporting cross-strait dialogue.
The official also said that the U.S. does not take a position on the ultimate resolution of cross-strait differences, provided that they were resolved peacefully.
Mao said that China noted the remark, calling the One China principle a prevailing international consensus, as well as the political foundation of the China-U.S. relationship.
Mao called Taiwan independence the "biggest threat" to cross-strait peace and stability and said it was "doomed to failure".
China hopes U.S. will honour commitment to One China policy
Mao noted that U.S. leaders have repeatedly said they are committed to the One China policy and did not support Taiwanese independence, and not seek to use the Taiwan question as a tool to contain China.
She said that China hoped that the U.S. would honour these commitments, handle Taiwan related issues “prudently and properly”, and stop official interactions with Taiwan.
Mao also called on the U.S. to refrain from "interfering in the elections of the Taiwan region" in any form.
“If the US truly hopes to safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, it needs to explicitly oppose 'Taiwan independence' and support China’s peaceful reunification.”
She also reiterated that Taiwan’s elections were "China's internal affairs":
“Regardless of the result, it will not change the basic fact that Taiwan is a part of China and there is only one China in the world.”
Interference
China has been accused of interfering in Taiwan's elections.
According to the Guardian, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu claimed that China has launched interference efforts "at every election" since Taiwan democratised.
The Democratic Progressive Party candidate, William Lai, accused China of engaging in an unprecedented level of interference, claiming that it had used political, military, and economic pressure, as well as cognitive warfare, disinformation, threats and incentives.
The accusations of interference run the gamut; in Dec. 2023, Taiwanese rock band Mayday, who are popular in China, was reportedly pressured to publicly support China’s One China policy, according to the Taipei Times.
On Jan. 10, a Chinese satellite was launched and happened to fly over southern Taiwan, prompting the Taiwanese government to issue an air raid alert.
Reuters reported that while the rocket launch “caused a pre-election political storm”, the rocket was part of a pre-planned satellite launch, prompting the president’s office to later clarify that they believed the launch had no “political motive”.
The defence ministry later apologised for using an erroneous translation in English, which had the word "missile".
Apparent censorship on Weibo
Bloomberg reported that there have been signs that China was clamping down on internet discussion on Taiwan’s elections on Jan. 13.
Hashtags and searches about Taiwan’s elections on China's social media, such as Weibo, showed a hashtag related to the election as trending early on Jan. 13.
But by the afternoon, searches were returning notices that read “According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the content of this topic is not displayed”.
Checks by Mothership returned similar results.
Screenshot by Mothership
Screenshot by Mothership
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@mothershipsg Taiwan voters go to the polls to elect their next president today (Jan. 13). One of them is outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen. #taiwan #taiwanelection #news ♬ original sound - Mothership
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Top image via PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs