Chinese Foreign Ministry Says Taiwan's Attempts To Gain Independence Doomed To Failure

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) Taiwan's attempts to collude with foreign forces in order to achieve independence are bound to fail, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, the Taiwanese presidential office said that the island's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, would travel to Belize and Guatemala in transit through the US from March 29 to April 7. The leader is scheduled to meet with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei and Belize Prime Minister John Briceno. At the same time, Tsai's office provided no information on whether the Taiwanese president would meet with any US officials during the trip.

"Any attempt (of Taiwan) to collude with outside forces with a view to gaining independence and creating provocations is doomed to failure.

China will firmly protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesman said.

China firmly opposes any forms of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, Wang added.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan � a territory with its own elected government � maintains that it is an autonomous country but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts of foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.