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Taiwan to USA: Fear of a similar fate to Hong Kong; China: Games of Fire

The Democratic islanders have expressed concern over the visit of the U.S. Secretary of Health, the most senior U.S. official to come to Taipei in 40 years. In Beijing, which does not rule out a takeover of Taiwan, the consequences are being warned. "

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Reuters

China said today (Wednesday) that it opposes official relations between the United States and Taiwan on any excuse. This is after the visit of the Minister of Health of the United States, Alex Azar, to the island where Beijing sees a rebel province. "Whoever plays with fire will be burned," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned in a briefing to reporters.

He said Ezer's performance during the corona plague was "the worst in the world," in light of criticism leveled by a senior administration official against Beijing's response to the virus. The US Secretary of Health said yesterday that if such an outbreak had started in Taiwan or the United States, it would have been easily stopped. The Democratic island has expressed concern that their fate will be the same as that of Hong Kong, whose autonomy has been trampled in recent months under China's national security law. Beijing has never ruled out the possibility of a takeover of Taiwan by force.

Washington severed official ties with Taipei in 1979 in favor of Beijing, but is still Taiwan's largest arms supplier. The Trump administration has put strengthening de facto support for the de facto independent island a priority due to tensions with China.

China has offered Taiwan a "one country, two systems" model, similar to the Hong Kong system that is supposed to guarantee greater freedoms than those in mainland China, but it has eroded in recent years, and more so since the passage of national security law. The Chinese proposal was rejected by all major parties and the government in Taiwan.

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• A senior Trump administration official is visiting Taiwan. China responded by sending fighter jets

According to him, the plague in the United States "is not under control" and this is the fault of Azer. "He ignored millions of Americans suffering from the virus and turned to Taiwan to make a political show," he said. "His behavior proves once again that in the eyes of American politicians, Americans' lives have no meaning compared to their selfish political gains."

Ezer has been the most senior U.S. official to visit Taiwan for four decades, and he arrived on the island after a sharp deterioration in US-China relations on a number of issues, including trade, the situation in Hong Kong and Korna. The Trump administration often attacks China over the severity of the epidemic, which was first identified in the city of Wuhan late last year. China denies the allegations.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump said that relations with Chinese President Xi Jinping had cooled following the epidemic, noting that they had not spoken for a long time. Trump, who is facing elections in three months, calls the corona "the Chinese virus." The United States has the highest number of deaths and diagnoses in the world, while Taiwan has been praised by health experts for its rapid response. She recorded only 480 verified cases and seven deaths.

On Monday, during Ezer's visit, China sent J-11 and J-10 fighter jets that briefly entered Taiwan's side in the narrow strait and felt that separated it from its huge neighbor. The Taiwan Air Force said the incident occurred around 9 a.m., shortly before a meeting between U.S. officials and President Tsai Ying-wen. The corps also said in a statement issued by the Ministry of Defense that terrestrial anti-aircraft missiles followed the Chinese planes, which were "expelled" by Taiwanese reconnaissance planes

. A senior Taiwanese security official told Reuters that China had clearly "aimed" at Ezer with a "very dangerous" move, given that Chinese planes were within range of Taiwan's missiles.