At the Chinese Foreign Ministry press briefing Jan. 16, spokeswoman Mao Ning was asked about the Taiwan Non-Discrimination Act of 2023, which was passed in the House on Jan. 12. The bill requires the Treasury Secretary to use U.S. influence at the IMF to support Taiwan’s becoming a member of that organization.
Mao Ning minced no words in labeling the bill as a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, as Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, and is intended to manipulate the Taiwan question for political purposes to create “two Chinas” or “one China and one Taiwan.” There is no basis on which Taiwan could join the United Nations or any other international organization, Mao said, as it is not a separate country. It is time, she warned, for the U.S. to recognize the “highly sensitive nature of the Taiwan question and immediately stop using the Taiwan question to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
