Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday made clear China's solemn position on Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Xinhua News Agency reported. Wang, who is attending meetings on East Asia cooperation and on a visit to Cambodia, told reporters that Pelosi's tour is a complete farce, according to the report. Wang said the US side, under the guise of so-called "democracy," is doing the heinous deeds of violating China's sovereignty. Such "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces represented by Tsai Ing-wen, riding the US coattails, have betrayed the righteousness of the great national cause, said Wang. "These perverse practices will not change the international consensus that there is only one China, nor will they change the historical trend that Taiwan will return to the motherland," the minister said. "Those who play with fire will not end up well, and those who violate China's sovereignty will certainly be penalized," he added. Pelosi, who is second in line to the US presidency, arrived in Taipei late Tuesday. Her visit to Taiwan was the first in 25 years by a US House speaker. China and Taiwan separated after a civil war in 1949, but Beijing sees the island as its territory. — Agencies
