'Do not conduct official exhchanges with Taiwan': China warns Europe ahead of foreign minister's visit to Prague

Ahead of Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu’s visit to Europe next week, China has urged leaders of the continent not to share any official exchanges with the country or support its “independence forces”.

Wu will be visiting Prague next week on a planned trip to Europe, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky confirmed on Friday. She also added that the state has no plan to shift its current policy towards Taiwan.

Taiwan, which is claimed by China, has no formal diplomatic ties with any European country except the Vatican. Beijing regularly denounces any form of contact between Taiwanese and foreign officials, viewing it as encouraging global recognition of Taiwan’s separate status from China.

Wu’s trip has, however, not been officially confirmed by the Taiwan government. He is expected to speak at a think-tank event in Prague immediately after Czech President Petr Pavel, according to Reuters.

“Of course, the Czech government has a fairly clear policy on how we maintain relations with Taiwan, so I don’t expect us to veer from this in any way,”  Czech Minister Lipavsky said adding that he has “been informed” about Wu’s visit.

China has claimed Taiwan as its own territory and demands other countries recognise its sovereignty.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said in a news briefing that Taiwan does not have a foreign affairs minister but only a “head of the region’s local foreign affairs department”.

The “one China” principle is a prerequisite and the political basis for China to develop “friendly” relations with all countries in the world, Wang said.

“We urge the European side to understand the essence of the Taiwan issue, to abide by the solemn commitments made to China on the ‘one China’ principle, not to support Taiwan independence forces, and not to conduct official exchanges with Taiwan under any name,” he said.

“We also want to tell the Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party authorities that any separatist acts and attempts to gain self-respect from foreigners are doomed to end in failure,” Wang added, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.

The Taiwan Foreign Minister is also expected to visit Brussels, the European Union’s capital, sources told Reuters.

With inputs from agencies

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