Responding to remarks by President-elect Donald Trump, China's Foreign Ministry on Monday said that the country's “one China” principle regarding Taiwan is not negotiable and that any attempt to reconsider the issue would be self-defeating. “Whoever attempts to harm the one-China principle out of any motive or uses the principle as a bargaining chip will definitely be facing broad and strong opposition from the Chinese government and people, as well as the international community,” Hua said. Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Friday that “everything is under negotiation, including ‘one China.’” It was the latest sign that Trump could shake up the U.S.-China relationship, particularly regarding Taiwan, which Beijing considers a core national interest. The one-China principle holds that Taiwan is part of China and the communist government in Beijing is China's sole legitimate government. Also Monday, the Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times published an editorial blasting Trump's strategy and saying China would have a strong response to any reconsideration of Washington's long-standing “one China” policy.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 16, 2017 23:04 UTC