China’s ambassador to France: Beijing has “not ruled out the use of force” against Taiwan
Jowharspoke with Lu Shaye, the Chinese Ambassador to France. He insisted that Beijing prioritize “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan, but said the Chinese authorities “had not ruled out the use of force” – not with the intention of targeting “the people of Taiwan”, but rather to deter “separatists in Taiwan”.
Taiwan “. and certain “foreign forces”. The Chinese diplomat also said he was “confident” that there would be no mass increase in the case of Covid-19 during the Winter Olympics, which open in Beijing on February 4.
Lu Shaye, the Chinese Ambassador to France, told Jowharthat all “preventive measures” have been taken to ensure that the Winter Olympics take place under the best possible health conditions. Although he acknowledged that there was a slight increase in the Covid-19 cases in China, Lu said the situation was “under control” and predicted that “there will not be a major epidemic of Covid-19 in Beijing during the Games”.
Asked about the possibility of closing the Chinese capital in the event of an outbreak, such as the one recently introduced for the city of Xi’an, the Chinese ambassador replied that “it is due to” the epidemiological situation and stressed that only one case of the Omicron variant had so far discovered in Beijing. Lu also minimized the scale of the diplomatic boycott decided by the United States and several of its allies, saying the Olympics were organized for athletes and not for “politicians.”
Lithuania’s “mistake”
When he turned to Taiwan, Lu described the island’s authorities as “separatists” and accused them of multiple provocations. He warned that in response Beijing would take all “relevant” reunification measures and added that they “had not ruled out the use of force”. Lu also criticized the United States, which, in his view, encouraged the Taiwanese authorities to take positions for independence.
Asked about the opening of a “Taiwanese Representation Office” in Lithuania, which has caused a serious diplomatic crisis between Vilnius and Beijing, Lu said the measure “contradicts” EU policies, which follow the principle of “a China”. He said he hoped the Lithuanian government would correct its “mistake”. Finally, the Chinese diplomat warned that China would firmly oppose any EU-Taiwan trade negotiations, or indeed any Taiwanese action that would “undermine” China-EU relations.
