War of words after Taiwan election highlights the intractable divide over the island’s fate
LA TimesA war of words erupted the day after Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections, with Taiwan on Sunday accusing China of making “fallacious comments” and China criticizing the U.S. for congratulating the winner. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the election that “the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair” and “the basic fact that. U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken congratulated Lai on his victory, saying Washington looks forward to working with all of Taiwan’s leaders “to advance our shared interests and values.” He congratulated the people of Taiwan for demonstrating the strength of their democracy, a nod to the Biden administration’s efforts to find common ground with other democracies in the face of China’s rise. China’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. statement “sends a gravely wrong signal to the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces” and goes against a U.S. commitment to maintaining only unofficial ties with Taiwan.