Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the Chinese State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Beijing will not allow Western countries that advocate for the independence of the island of Taiwan to cross “red lines.”

“If the provocations of the separatist pro-Taiwan independence forces and foreign forces cross the red line, we will be forced to take decisive action,” a Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman was quoted as saying by the Beijing Daily.

The Chinese representative stressed that “the efforts of the separatist forces to stop reunification with the Chinese mainland by military means and their reliance on Western media will only hasten the defeat of the supporters of ‘Taiwan independence’.”

It is noteworthy that Taiwan has been under its own rule since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to this island after their defeat in the Chinese civil war.

Since then, Taiwan has retained the flag and some other features of the former Republic of China that existed on the mainland before the communists came to power. According to the official position of the PRC, which is supported by most countries, including Russia, the island is considered a province of China.