Probably for the first time ever, China issued an explicit and direct threat of war with the United States over the self-ruling island republic of Taiwan.
An Untypically Direct Threat from China
The direct threat was uttered by Ambassador Qin Gang in his first-ever, one-on-one interview for a US media outlet since he assumed his post at the PRC Embassy in Washington, eight months ago.
Speaking in an interview with NPR, Qin directly expressed the United States would face a “military conflict” with China if it keeps supporting Taiwan.
While Chinese diplomats have typically used vague terms when issuing warnings to the United States over Taiwan, the new Chinese ambassador was particularly direct and explicit.
There have been warnings that China may attack Taiwan very soon and may even coordinate with a Russian attack against Ukraine.
Qin declared if Taiwan proceeds down the road of becoming independent of China, that “will most likely” cause a military conflict between the PRC and America.
The new Chinese ambassador is a career diplomat who previously served Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s chief of foreign affairs protocol.
In an unusually direct warning, China’s ambassador to the US talks of future “military conflict” between the US and China.
Qin Gang says that’s “likely” if Taiwan, “emboldened” by the US, “keeps going down the road for independence.”
Our interview Friday @MorningEdition @NPR
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) January 28, 2022
Proud of Olympics, Denies Uyghur Genocide
In his interview, Qin expressed pride in China hosting the winter Olympics. He emphasized that Olympic athletes are living in a “secure bubble” protecting them against catching COVID-19.
The US, the UK, and Australia are staging a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Olympics because of the ethnic cleansing and genocide that China has been committing against ethnic Uyghurs in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.
Needless to say, the new Chinese Ambassador in Washington described the revelations about the Uyghur genocide as “fabrications, lies, and disinformation.” Qin argued some Uyghurs are terrorists and stated their place is in “prisons”.
He also clarified that other Uyghurs with “inappropriate thoughts” are getting to change them in “vocational schools”, which really appear to be full-fledged ethnic cleansing concentration camps.
In his interview, Qin argued people living in both mainland China and Taiwan are all “Chinese”.
He also claimed the Beijing communists don’t want to start a war. However, China is certainly reserving the right to use “un-peaceful means” in order to achieve “reunification” with Taiwan.
The ambassador warning America of a war with China over Taiwan came after earlier this week. Beijing staged a new provocation against the island by sending 39 aircraft in its air space, the largest since the fall of 2021.
At the same time, in spite of the threat, the ambassador admitted the relationship with the US was China’s “most important” one, and that his mission as a diplomat is “not to mess it up”.
Although that is hard to imagine, considering his very first interview contains a threat towards the United States of America.
Qin Gang admits that CCP not only seeks to control citizens actions and speech, but also their thoughts. Those with "inappropriate thoughts" are being taught to change in "vocational schools." https://t.co/tGZgnDz4GP
— Bonnie Glaser / 葛來儀 (@BonnieGlaser) January 28, 2022
File this under the category of things you don’t see in China: Handed one of these stress balls just now at the opening of the European Values Center for Security Policy office in Taipei. Top diplomats from US, Taiwan and EU all in attendance. pic.twitter.com/6i06i8PtEI
— Amy Qin (@amyyqin) January 28, 2022
