China lodges complaint as U.S. Senate panel advances Taiwan bill

Reuters
Updated ·1 min read
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FILE PHOTO: People gather to see the honour guard lowering the Taiwan flag during the sunset hours at Liberty Square in Taipei

BEIJING (Reuters) -China said on Thursday that it had lodged "solemn representations" with the United States, after a U.S. Senate panel advanced legislation that would enhance U.S. military support for Taiwan.

If the bill continues to go forward, it would affect U.S.-China relations, Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a regular media briefing.

Mao also described the new U.S. legislation as sending "a serious false signal to the separatist forces of Taiwan independence."

"China is firmly opposed to this and has made solemn representations to the U.S. side that there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory, and that China will unswervingly promote the complete reunification of the country," the spokesperson said.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee backed the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 by 17-5, despite concerns about the bill in U.S. President Joe Biden's administration and anger about the measure from Beijing.

The bill comes over one month after China conducted its largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan in response to an earlier visit to the self-ruled island by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

(Reporting by Liz Lee; Writing by Ryan Woo and Eduardo Baptista; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Kim Coghill)