China suspends communications with Taiwan

Beijing, June 25: The Chinese government on Saturday announced that it has suspended communications with Taiwan over Taipei's refusal to recognise the '1992 consensus' of the One China policy that has guided relations between the two territories in recent years.

In a statement released by Xinhua news agency, Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office said that it has not been in contact with Taipei regarding Friday's extradition to China of 25 Taiwanese nationals arrested in Cambodia - the latest episode of tension since President Tsai Ing-wen assumed office on May 20.

"Because the Taiwan side has not acknowledged the 1992 consensus, this joint political basis for showing the One China principle, the cross Taiwan Strait contact and communication mechanism has already stopped," reported Xinhua, quoting Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson An Fengshan.

In her inaugural speech, Tsai who heads the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, acknowledged the "historical fact" that there was a meeting in 1992 between China and Taiwan, but said no consensus was reached and neither was Taiwan a part of China, as Beijing claims.

The '1992 consensus', the base of current ties between the two sides, is an ambiguous formula in which both Beijing and Taipei are considered part of the same China, but each agree to interpret the meaning of that China in their own way: for some communist and democratic for others.

The statement comes a day after 25 Taiwanese and 14 Chinese were extradited to China from Cambodia on accusations of telecommunications fraud, despite protests from Taipei.

In April, two similar incidents occurred when Kenya and Malaysia deported 32 and 45 Taiwanese to China raising tensions between Beijing and Taipei, with the latter condemning these actions as "abductions".

The announcement of the suspension of communications between China and Taiwan comes amid Tsai's first international tour, as she left on Friday for Panama, Paraguay and the US.

IANS