The Chinese embassy in Bangkok has issued a statement in response to an interview with Taiwan’s foreign minister which was published by Thai media, stating that his comments regarding Taiwan’s independence hurt the Chinese people.

On 11 November, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand issued the following statement:

Statement by Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Kingdom of Thailand

In reecent days, one Thai media published an interview with “Taiwan Independence” separatist Wu Zhaoxie. In the interview, Wu propagated “Taiwan Independence” fallacies and viciously attacked the proposal of peaceful reunificaion of China. His ridiculous remarks are not worth refuting at all. This media provided a platform for “Taiwan Independence” separatists to propagate fallacies, which has harmed China’s interests and hurt the Chinese people’s feelings. We strongly deplore and reject this.

It is a universally-acknowledged fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Any action that holds the candle to the devil on issues related to the territorial integrity of China and separatism runs counter to the China and Thailand people’s friendship. Any practice that hurts other country and its people under the pretext of the freedom of press is merely an abuse of the freedom of press.

We hope the relevent media could respect the territorial and sovereign integrity of China, earnestly correct the mistakes, and prevent actions that hurt the Chinese people’s sentiments from happening again.

MGR Online reported that the reaction likely stemmed from a published interview conducted by Thai PBS on 3 November 2023 with Taiwan foreign minister Joseph Wu. The interview discussed the de-escalation of conflict between China and Taiwan through negotiations. In one session, the foreign minister reportedly alleged that China eliminates its enemies without using force and increases military pressure on Taiwan in order to isolate Taiwan on the global stage. Wu also allegedly stated that China employs economic measures on Taiwan with the aim of weakening Taiwan.

The Taiwan Foreign Ministry subsequently issued a statement in response to the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, urging democratic countries to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.