TAIPEI (TVBS News) — China has seen a record number of balloons released into Taiwan's airspace. Yet, China's Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian on Thursday (Jan. 25) dismissed military involvement and branded it as meaningless hype.
Wu, during the ministry's monthly news conference in January, criticized the actions of the "Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities" as "a habitual tactic to provoke cross-strait confrontation," one destined to fail.
In response to appeals by the Republic of China's (Taiwan) foreign ministry for respect towards the island's election results, Wu reiterated that "the Taiwan region's election is China's local affairs," claiming "the DPP cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island."
Regardless of how Taiwan's situation evolves, Wu firmly asserts that "There is only one China in the world, Taiwan is a part of China," proclaiming it won't change the international community's "universal consensus to adhere to the one-China principle," nor disrupt the country's "historical trend towards reunification."
"The sovereignty and territory of China have never been divided, and the legal status and fact that Taiwan is part of China's territory has never changed," Wu said.
"This is the real status quo in the Taiwan Strait," he stated, declaring, "Taiwan will never be a country, Taiwan independence will never be possible, and the plot of external forces to split China will never succeed."
Finally, he pledged that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) "will speak with actions, and always stand as a 'Great Wall of Steel' to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity."