China expresses its concern about the most likely candidate in the presidential elections in Taiwan

Baghdad-INA
Beijing warned Thursday that Lai Ching-te, the most likely candidate to win the presidential elections scheduled in Taiwan two days later, poses a “grave threat” to relations between the island and China, according to what was reported by the official Chinese news agency, Xinhua.

“I hope our compatriots in Taiwan will see the serious danger posed by Lai’s incitement of cross-Strait conflicts (in Taiwan) and make the right choice,” Xinhua quoted Chen Binhua, spokesman for Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office, as saying.
Lai Ching-te, who currently holds the position of Vice President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen and, like her, belongs to the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, is the most likely candidate, according to opinion polls, to win the presidential elections scheduled for Saturday.
The Chinese spokesman added, “If (Lai) comes to power, he will continue to promote separatist activities related to Taiwan independence,” warning that the Vice President’s victory as president represents a “serious danger” to relations between China and Taiwan.
China considers the island of Taiwan an integral part of its territory and has pledged to restore it, even by force if necessary.
Among all the issues of tension between the United States and China, the Taiwan situation is probably the most dangerous.
The United States does not recognize Taiwan as an independent state, but rather considers the People’s Republic of China the only legitimate representative of China.
However, the United States provides significant military aid to the island and refuses to change the “status quo” there by force.
Voters in Taiwan will cast their votes on Saturday to elect their next president.