On Wednesday, a spokesperson with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council expressed opposition to any official contact between the US and Taiwan after the opening of a new compound for the New American Institute – a de facto American embassy – on the island.

Sputnik
Date: 13.06.2018
By: David Hsieh / Taipei City

There should be no official contact between the two countries “in any form,” spokesperson Ma Xiaoguang said Wednesday. “The US should adhere to the One China principle and the three joint communiques between China and the US so as not the undermine bilateral ties and peace and stability in the region,” he warned, China’s Xinhua news service reported.

“Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party administration will only further damage cross-Strait relations by implicating foreign powers,” Ma added. “The Taiwan issue, which is vital to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, remains the most important and sensitive issue in China-US relations.”

The remarks come after the US dedicated its new de facto embassy in Taipei on Tuesday, the same day that US President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore. The American Institute in Taiwan has existed since 1979 as offices scattered across Taipei. However, this is the first time that the institute has been given its own compound.    [FULL  STORY]