China firmly opposes US 'Taiwan Travel Act'

US President Donald Trump signed legislation Friday that encourages visits between officials of the United States and Taiwan at all levels, a move that China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposes.

According to a White House release late Friday, Trump signed several pieces of legislation into law, including the “Taiwan Travel Act”, which was passed by the US Congress last month.

Earlier Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said that some clauses of the bill, though not legally binding, still severely violate the one-China principle and the three joint communiqués between China and the US.

“China is strongly dissatisfied with that and also firmly opposes it,” Lu said before Trump’s signing of the bill. “We have lodged stern representations with the US side.”

The spokesman reiterated that the one-China principle is the political foundation of the China-US relationship.

“We urge the US side to adhere to the one-China policy and honor the commitments it made in the three joint communiqués, stop pursuing any official ties with Taiwan or improving its current relations with Taiwan in any substantive way,” Lu said at a regular news briefing in Beijing.

“It must handle Taiwan-related issues properly and cautiously so as to avoid causing any major disruption or damage to China-US relations.”