 "Chess pieces are seen in front of displayed China and Taiwan's flags in this illustration taken January 25, 2022. Reuters")
The Chinese Embassy in Israel has expressed discontent over reports of the Taiwanese deputy foreign minister secretly meeting Israeli officials.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Taiwan’s Francois Wu Chih-chung travelled to Israel recently, although it is not clear who he met there. Meanwhile, Taiwan has neither denied nor confirmed the news.
The Chinese Embassy in Israel on Saturday commented on the visit, saying that Beijing opposes official exchanges between a country it has diplomatic relations and Taiwan.
“The Chinese embassy in Israel lodged a solemn representation with Israel immediately,” the embassy said in a post on social media.
“We once again urge the Israeli side to earnestly abide by the one-China principle, correct its erroneous actions, cease sending any wrong signals to separatist forces advocating ‘Taiwan independence’, and take concrete actions to safeguard the overall development of China-Israel relations,” the embassy added.
Before he was appointed Taiwan’s deputy foreign minister last year, Wu spent six years as the island’s de facto ambassador in Paris. His most recent public appearance overseas was at the Berlin Security Conference on November 19.
While Taiwan and Israel do not share formal diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained unofficial economic, technological and defence ties and have established de facto embassies in Taipei and Tel Aviv.
In October, Taiwan’s leader, William Lai Ching-te, said he wanted the island to develop a “T-Dome” missile defence system modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome, prompting a swift rebuke from Beijing.
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View AllA joint communiqué establishing diplomatic relations between Beijing and Israel, signed in 1992, states that Israel recognises the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China and regards Taiwan as an “inalienable” part of its territory.