China warns Taiwan against independence agenda

China warned Taiwan on Thursday against moving towards independence, saying this approach could lead to a war. The Taiwanese people must understand the inherent dangers of pursuing "Taiwan independence," as it will inevitably lead to war," said Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office. Chen urged Taiwanese people to resolutely oppose and stop President Lai Ching-te's "separatist" actions. "We have the firm will, full confidence and strong capability to crush the provocations of 'Taiwan independence' and the interference of external forces," he said. The military build-up of the Taiwan authorities, led by Lai, will only lead to their own destruction, Chen warned. Chen statements came on the backdrop of the Taiwanese government's deal with the US administration to purchase arms worth of USD 218 million. The Chinese official also urged the United States to immediately stop arming China's Taiwan region and sending erroneous signals to separatist forces advocating for "Taiwan independence." He called on the United States to honor its commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence" with concrete actions. The repeated sales of weapons by the United States to the Taiwan region seriously violate the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, particularly the August 17 Communique of 1982, Chen said. These actions severely infringe upon China's sovereignty and security interests, he clarified. On Wednesday, the Chinese government announced that it will stop implementing the policies of exempting import tariffs on 34 agricultural products originating in Taiwan starting from September 25, 2024 in response to what it described "discriminatory" measures taken by Taiwan against Chinese products. The agricultural products include fresh fruits, vegetables and aquatic products, said a statement from the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council. Source: Kuwait News Agency