U.S. Vice President Criticizes China's Moves on Taiwan|美副總統批中國外交施壓威脅台海穩定

發布時間：2018/10/5 16:53 更新時間：2018/10/5 17:26

Jake Chen

China-US tensions heighten after US Vice President Mike Pence's open support for Taiwan on Oct 4. During a speech Pence had condemned China for threatening the regional stability in the Taiwan Strait and claimed that China attempted to influence the U.S. election. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs refuted Pence's claim and asked that the US stop its groundless accusation immediately.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gave a speech on October 4 at the invitation of the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank. He addressed a number of frictions that took place between the United States and China in recent months. Pence said that China had influenced three of Taiwan's former diplomatic allies in Latin America to break ties and recognize Beijing instead, and the move harms regional stability in the Taiwan Strait. Pence said the U.S. denounces such acts. The audience applauded in response.

Chinese Communist Party has convinced three Latin American nations to sever ties with Taipei and recognize Beijing. These actions threaten the stability of the Taiwan Strait, and the United States of America condemns these actions. While our administration will continue to respect our One China Policy, as reflected in the Three Joint Communique and the Taiwan Relations Act, America will always believe that Taiwan's embrace of democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people.

Pence said that China has provided assistance internationally to candidates and political parties that support its strategies, and that it has given developing countries large sums of loans for infrastructure in order to expand its influence on the global stage. Pence also said that China tries to affect the opinions of the public in the U.S., more so than Russia did before 2016. He said China is trying to undermine U.S.' democracy and wants a new president in the White House.

And worst of all, China has initiated an unprecedented effort to influence American public opinion of the 2018 elections and the environment leading into the 2020 presidential elections. To put it bluntly, President Trump's leadership is working, and China wants a different American president.

On September 30, an American warship, USS Decatur, entered the South China Sea and was subsequently approached and driven out of the region by a Chinese destroyer. The two warships was only 41 meters apart during the close encounter. Mike Pence said that the U.S. military will not back down and its war planes and warships will continue to fly and sail in accordance to international laws. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in response, criticizing Pence's statement as totally groundless.

The U.S.' criticism of China's domestic and foreign policy is completely groundless. It even made up the narrative of China attempting to influence U.S. elections. China is strongly opposed to such false statement.

China said they thought the two nations were engaged in friendly interactions, but the U.S. opted to engage in groundless accusations of China influencing its domestic affairs. China has demanded that the U.S. stop its smear campaign and resort to real actions to help maintain a steady growth of China-U.S. relations.