Beijing will vehemently oppose any kind of separatist movement and the relationship with Taiwan and China will further deteriorate if independence movements continue, a senior Chinese official said.
Yu Zhengsheng, the ruling Communist Party's fourth ranked leader, said Beijing will try to unite all parties and groups in Taiwan that accept both sides of the Taiwan Strait are part of one China, Reuters reported.
Speaking at an annual conference on policy towards the self-ruled Taiwan, Yu said China will "resolutely oppose and check any form of 'Taiwan independence' separatist activity, maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and maintain the peaceful development of cross-Taiwan Strait relations and peace and stability", Xinhua said.
The stern warning came a few days after US President Donald Trump said that the 'One China Policy' was negotiable. Since then China is unsure if The United States is shifting its stance towards Taiwan.
On 14 January, China's foreign ministry, in response to Trump's comment, said that Taiwan has been a part of "one China" since 1979 and the US should abide by the commitments that the previous US governments promised. Beijing even asked the United States not to permit Taiwanese representatives to attend the inauguration of President Trump on 20 January.
According to the One China policy, Taiwan and mainland China are considered inalienable parts of a single "China". However, Taiwan opposes this claim and promotes itself as a self-ruled island.
Also read: Beijing stresses on One China Policy after Trump calls it 'negotiable'
China and Taiwan have been at loggerheads with each other ever since the Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen said her country will not bow to pressure from China and urged Beijing to engage in talks with her government on 10 October 2016, at the National Day address. She also said ties between Taiwan and mainland china have been far from cordial but that she would not want to revert to the old path of confrontation.
In November, Taiwan took an unexpected measure which rankled nerves in China and gave an open challenge to Beijing. Taiwan, which mostly kept away from the disputes over the South China Sea till then, reaffirmed its claims on the territories in the area. It also organised a rescue drill around its sole territorial holding in the disputed waters called Itu Aba, which is also known as Taiping.
