China Warns US Not To Allow Official Visits By Taiwan GovtLast update: 7/31/2007 9:09:31 AMBEIJING (AP)--China warned the U.S. Tuesday against exchanges with political leaders from Taiwan after the U.S. House of Representatives recommended allowing visits by senior Taiwanese officials. China's Foreign Ministry called the resolution, which was passed by the House of Representatives on Monday, an "interference in China's internal affairs and extremely mistaken." "China strongly opposes this resolution and has already made representations with the U.S. side," a faxed ministry statement said. It urged the U.S. "not to have any official exchanges in any form" with Taiwan's leaders in order to maintain good Sino-U.S. relations and protect peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Washington is Taiwan's most important ally. Still, President George W. Bush's administration, eager to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, is wary of offending China, a growing economic and military power and a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. bars travel by senior Taiwan leaders to Washington and allows only transit stops in other U.S. cities. Frank Hsieh, Taiwan's ruling party presidential candidate, visited Washington last week. Should he be elected president, however, he could not return to the US. China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing views the self-ruled island as part of its own territory and opposes anything that might give Taiwan the trappings of sovereignty, even letting its leaders travel the globe freely. (END) Dow Jones NewswiresJuly 31, 2007 09:09 ET (13:09 GMT)
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