China welcomes Russia's stance on elections in Taiwan

The People's Republic of China thanked the Russian Federation for the position of the Russian Federation regarding the electoral process that took place in Taiwan last Saturday, January 13, said the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Asian country, Mao Ning.

In this regard, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, criticized that “the attempts of some countries to use the elections in Taiwan to put pressure on Beijing and destabilize the situation in the strait (of Taiwan) and in the entire region, are counterproductive and deserve broad condemnation by the international community.”

“We highly appreciate Russia's position,” said Mao, commenting on Zakharova's statement, which joined many countries and international organizations that openly reaffirmed their commitment to the “one China” principle, and supported Beijing in protecting national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing Taiwan's independence in any form and speaking out for the reunification of China. “We thank these countries for their understanding and support for China's just position,” the spokeswoman added.

On the other hand, China urged the United States (US) to fulfill the commitments made in the Taiwan problem and not to send the wrong signals to Taiwanese separatists, Ning emphasized, referring to the visit to the island of a delegation from the North American country; composed of former Undersecretary of State, James Steinberg, and former national security advisor, Stephen John Hadley; who met with the acting head of the island's administration, Tsai Ing-wen, and the elected leader, Lai Ching-te.