China has issued a stern warning condemning countries that have sent congratulatory messages to the winner of the recent presidential elections in Taiwan.
This includes Singapore, whose Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement congratulating Dr William Lai for his victory.
As a result, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China urged Singapore to strictly follow the one-China principle and maintain friendly bilateral relationships between the countries in tangible ways.
Mao Ning, the spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, was asked several questions about the recent Taiwan elections during a briefing on Monday (15 Jan).
One of the questions involved Singapore, which congratulated Dr Lai and his party for winning the presidential elections via a statement on 14 Jan.
Source: 賴清德 on Facebook
Singapore issued similar statements when current president Tsai Ing-wen and her party won the elections in 2020 and 2016.
Mao said that China has made “solemn démarches” — the equivalent of a diplomatic reprimand — to Singapore in response to the comments.
She stated that Singapore had repeatedly mentioned that the Taiwan issue is a “deep red line” for China.
“China values this statement and hopes that Singapore will strictly abide by the one-China principle and uphold the overall friendly relations between China and Singapore with concrete actions.”
Singapore isn’t the only country China took issue with over their reaction to the Taiwanese elections.
Mao was also asked to respond to the United States (US), Japan, and a few European countries’ comments that they’d send delegations to Taiwan to “express congratulations”.
The spokesperson described such messages as “wrong practices violating the one-China principle” and said China had similarly lodged “solemn démarches”.
Mao said the one-China principle is the political premise with which China establishes diplomatic ties with other countries.
She warned that any party in the international community that violates this principle is interfering with China’s internal affairs and infringing upon its sovereignty.
Also read: China Condemns Taiwan Vice-President’s Visit To US, William Lai Says He Won’t Back Down
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and Reuters.
The integrated resort was fined S$2.25 million in December 2023 for failing to perform due…
She had to take on three jobs to support her children after becoming a young…
Investigations into two remaining foreign nationals, who are both outside Singapore, are ongoing.
He is out on bail of S$4 million.
The initiative sparked debate among parents who are worried that such a gesture may attract…
Two individuals were transported to NUH for treatment.