China vents anger at US Senators' visit to Taiwan

[mountaineer]

China vents anger at US Senators' visit to Taiwan
2021/6/7 06:52 (EDT)
Agence France-Presse

Beijing (AFP) - China expressed fury over US Senators visiting Taiwan to donate coronavirus vaccines, saying it could embolden "separatist forces" on the island.

Beijing sees democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory which is to be seized one day, by force if necessary, and rages at any diplomatic attempts to recognise it as an independent nation.

A delegation of three US lawmakers made a stopover on Sunday in Taipei, where they announced Washington would donate 750,000 coronavirus vaccine doses to Taiwan.

The gift came as Taiwan accuses China of hampering its efforts to secure vaccines, saying it is part of Beijing's ongoing campaign to isolate the island. ...

Full story

[mountaineer]

CNN's take:

US senators took a military aircraft to Taiwan to announce vaccine donation. To Beijing, that is a major provocation
By Nectar Gan and Ben Westcott, CNN
Updated 4:14 AM ET, Mon June 7, 2021

Taiwan is finally getting much-needed help from the United States to fight its spiraling coronavirus outbreak. But to Beijing, the offer is a major provocation that risks escalating both cross-strait and US-China relations.

A delegation of US senators visited Taiwan on Sunday morning local time to announce the donation of 750,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called the vaccines "timely rain" for the island, which has only vaccinated 3% of its population and on Saturday recorded its highest daily Covid death toll of 37 fatalities.

"It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership," Sen. Tammy Duckworth said during the three-hour visit.

The donation is likely to draw the ire of Beijing, which has bridled at Taipei's apparent refusal to accept its offer of Chinese-made coronavirus vaccines. Taipei, on the other hand, has accused Beijing of blocking its efforts to purchase vaccines internationally, rather than trying to help. ...

But the biggest poke in the eye to Beijing is perhaps not Wu's comments or the vaccine donation deal itself, but the US military aircraft parked on the runway. The American delegation arrived at Taiwan's Songshan Airport on a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III freighter -- a primary strategic lift aircraft for the US military. ...

Full story

[GtHawk]

CNN's take:Full story

So if the Senators had sailed to Taiwan on the good ship 'Lollypop' instead of an evil Globemaster ChicomNewsNetwork would have been ok?

[PeteS in CA]

What the bleep! Taiwan's vax rate is less than 3% of the population! I "get" that until 3 or 4 weeks ago that Taiwan had very very very few cases of Covid, but did the government not get that few cases meant very few citizens have any immunity at all , and thus the whole country is vulnerable to the huge surge they are now experiencing?! New Zealand better be paying attention and get their vax act together (which it is not!).

[Sled Dog]

Too bad Trump didn't do the obvious and declare that there's only one China, and only one Taiwan, both separate and independent nations. 

It's way past time for the world to stop playing games with the status of Taiwan just because some Marxists are having hissy fits that they lost a civil war.

[DefiantMassRINO]

A not-so-subtle FU to the Communist Party of China.