'Status quo' Taiwan remarks draw rebuke

Chinese embassy spokesperson: Any push for separatism 'doomed to failure'

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the United States said on Monday that "Taiwan independence" is a dead end and would only bring disaster to the people in the Taiwan region, and that any attempt to justify separatist moves under the pretext of "democracy "is doomed to failure.

In an opinion piece published in USA Today on Jan 14, and in an interview with The Associated Press on Jan 18, the representative of the "Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States" highlighted the "democracy versus authoritarianism" rhetoric, advocated the maintenance of the cross-Strait "status quo", and claimed that Taiwan will continue to strengthen its security and economic ties with the US.

"The remarks are misleading and have distorted the truth," the embassy spokesperson said in a statement. "The Taiwan question has nothing to do with democracy, but bears on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity."