January 1, China’s Ambassador Warns Taiwan Could Lead to ‘Military Conflict’ with U.S.

China’s ambassador to the U.S. warned that if Taiwanese authorities “keep going down the road for independence,” it would “most likely” lead to a “military conflict” between the U.S. and China.

“The Taiwan issue is the biggest tinderbox between China and the United States,” veteran diplomat Qin Gang said.

China views Taiwan, a self-governing island, as a rebellious province that must be brought back under mainland control — either peacefully or by force.

In his interview with NPR, Qin claimed that Taiwan has been “emboldened by the United States,” which maintains a policy of “strategic ambiguity” on whether it would go to war with China to defend the island from an invasion.

The remarks come as the U.S. and other Western countries have led a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Beijing Olympics over China’s genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

More than 1 million Uyghurs are believed to have passed through mass internment camps, where they have reportedly been subjected to forced labor, forced sterilization, and other atrocities.

Qin called the allegations of repression “fabrications, lies, and disinformation.” He claimed that Uyghurs “enjoy happy life” like all other citizens of China.

Qin told the outlet that some Uyghurs are terrorists and “the destination for them is prisons,” while asserting that others who have been influenced by extremist thoughts had been sent to “vocational schools” for an “opportunity to change.”

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China’s ambassador to the U.S. warns of ‘military conflict’ over Taiwan