China Opposes Any U.S. Visit by Taiwan’s Lee
China reacted sharply Thursday to rumors that former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui plans a trip to the United States, saying that any form of visit by Beijing’s nemesis would gravely hurt Sino-American relations.
Reports that Lee wants to visit the United States have swirled in Taiwan’s media for weeks, but an aide and U.S. officials say they are not aware of any such plan.
The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said there was no indication that Lee planned to visit.
But the rumors were enough to prompt Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao to warn Washington against allowing a visit by Lee, who Zhu said was not an ordinary citizen but a “full-time separatist activist.”
“China strongly opposes Lee Teng-hui visiting the United States under any pretext,” he said.
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