Islamuddin Sajid
10 August 2022•Update: 10 August 2022
ANKARA
The Chinese ambassador to Canberra on Wednesday urged the Australian media to avoid calling Taiwan's "possible takeover" an "invasion," local media reported.
Speaking at National Press Club, Ambassador Xiao Qian said he would rather not use the word “invasion” when talking about China and Taiwan. Taiwan is different from any other scenario or situation.
“Taiwan is not an independent state. Taiwan is a province of the People’s Republic of China,” Xiao said in his address aired by ABC News.
“The issue between China and Taiwan, which is an issue between a central government of the People’s Republic of China with a local government, it’s an issue of reunification, it's an issue of coming back to the motherland,” he added.
Regarding the re-education of Taiwan people, the ambassador said there is no official policy but his personal understanding is that once Taiwan comes back to its motherland, there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China.
“The people in Taiwan are under a regional regime for many decades. It is reasonable for us to understand that their perspective about China, their perspective about their motherland might take somewhat different views,” he explained.
Responding to a question about the ongoing military drill, the envoy said it's a countermeasure to what happened and what has been done by the US and local regime in Taiwan.
"On the question of Taiwan, there's no room for compromise," he warned.
The ambassador said people in Taiwan are also Chinese people and they are part of their motherland.
China began military exercises last Thursday after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taipei after her visit last Wednesday.
The Chinese military also launched ballistic missiles around Taiwan, some of which fell in waters claimed by Japan to be its exclusive economic zone.
After Pelosi flew out of Taiwan, the PLA dispatched the largest number of military jets across the Taiwan Strait, with many entering the self-declared air defense identification zone, or ADIZ, which the two militaries across the Taiwan Strait avoid crossing.
Taiwan has also begun military drills in waters near the media line, an imaginary boundary that the fleets of mainland China and the island avoid crossing.
* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
