China warns US will pay ‘unbearable price’ for backing Taiwan

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https://nypost.com/2021/12/30/china-war ... ng-taiwan/

China warns US will pay ‘unbearable price’ for backing Taiwan
By Mark Moore
December 30, 2021

China’s foreign minister has warned the US will pay an “unbearable price” for​ its support of Taiwan. ​

In an interview with state media Thursday, Wang Yi accused Washington of “encouraging ‘Taiwan independence’ forces” in a way that “not only puts Taiwan into an extremely dangerous situation but also exposes the United States to an unbearable price​.”

Taiwan has been a self-ruling nation since the defeated government of Chiang Kai-shek fled there after mainland China was taken over by Mao Zedong’s Communists in 1949.

Beijing considers the island part of its territory​ and has ​called for reunification.

The US does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and acknowledges — but does not recognize — the claim that Taiwan is part of China.

In the past few months, Beijing has ramped up its pressure on Taiwan. In November, China sent 27 warplanes into the island nation’s airspace. ​​​

“Taiwan has no other way forward other than reunification with the mainland,” Wang​ insisted Thursday.

​​The foreign minister’s comments come a day after a spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office warned: “If separatist forces in Taiwan seeking independence provoke, exert force or even break through any red line, we will have to take drastic measures.”

The spokesman, Ma​ Xiaoguang, did not elaborate on what those “drastic measures” would be or what constituted a “red line.”