Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Answer to Journalists' Questions on August 14, 2024
2024-08-15
한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina
Xinhua News Agency reporter: The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website released a report titled "What the National Endowment for Democracy Has Done and What It Really Is." Can the spokesperson provide more information?
Lin Jian: The report "What the National Endowment for Democracy Does and Its True Face" exposes the truth that the National Endowment for Democracy has hidden under the guise of so-called "promoting democracy and human rights" through a large amount of detailed facts.
These truths include instigating color revolutions and subverting other countries' regimes; colluding with various forces to interfere in other countries' internal affairs; inciting separatism and confrontation to undermine the stability of other countries; concocting false information to deceive and interfere with public opinion; and using "academic activities" to engage in interference and infiltration. These include extending their black hands to China, supporting "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, inciting "Xinjiang independence", "Hong Kong independence" and "Tibetan independence", and planning subversion and infiltration activities aimed at undermining China's political security and social stability.
The actions of the National Endowment for Democracy seriously endanger the sovereignty, security and development interests of other countries, seriously violate international law and basic norms of international relations, and seriously endanger world peace and stability. They are despised by people who uphold fairness and justice in the international community.
Peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom are the common values of all mankind. Every country has the right to explore a development path that suits its own reality and the needs of its people. No country can pretend to be a teacher of democracy and human rights, let alone do things that harm the interests of other countries under the guise of "promoting democracy and human rights". The international community should conduct exchanges and dialogues on the basis of mutual respect and equality, and jointly make greater contributions to the progress of all mankind.
China News Service: According to reports, on the 12th, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Marrs said that it had signed a nuclear-powered submarine cooperation agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom, allowing the three countries to exchange nuclear materials and nuclear information. What is China's comment on this?
Lin Jian: China has noted the relevant reports. The nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia undermines efforts to maintain regional peace and security. The three countries have pieced together a "trilateral security partnership" to promote cooperation in nuclear submarines and other cutting-edge military technologies, stimulate an arms race, impact the international nuclear non-proliferation system, provoke group politics and military confrontation, and undermine regional peace and stability. China and relevant regional countries have repeatedly expressed serious concerns and resolute opposition.
The nuclear submarine cooperation between the United States, Britain and Australia violates the purpose and objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It is the transfer of nuclear submarine power reactors and a large amount of weapon-grade highly enriched uranium from nuclear-weapon states to non-nuclear-weapon states, posing a serious risk of nuclear proliferation. The existing safeguards supervision system of the International Atomic Energy Agency is unable to implement effective safeguards supervision, and there are huge disputes in the international community over the interpretation and application of relevant safeguards supervision clauses. Many countries expressed their concerns during the second preparatory committee of the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held not long ago.
China calls on the international community to take seriously the impact of the US-UK-Australia nuclear submarine cooperation on the authority and effectiveness of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and its negative impact on the IAEA safeguards mechanism, and continue to promote the intergovernmental discussion process through the IAEA, the NPT review process and other platforms, and effectively address the international community's legal and technical concerns about the trilateral cooperation. Before the international community reaches a consensus on issues such as safeguards, the US-UK-Australia should not promote nuclear submarine cooperation.
The Paper: According to reports, recently, former Secretary-General of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party and member of the House of Representatives Shigeru Ishiba and other Japanese lawmakers visited Taiwan and met with Taiwanese leader Lai Ching-te and others. What is China's comment on this?
Lin Jian: I have noticed the relevant reports. There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between countries with which it has diplomatic ties and Taiwan, and has lodged solemn representations with Japan in this regard.
The Taiwan issue is the core of China's core interests, and it concerns the political foundation of China-Japan relations. It is an insurmountable red line. Japan once colonized Taiwan for half a century, committed countless crimes, and bears serious historical responsibility to the Chinese people. Some Japanese politicians should bear in mind the lessons of history, recognize the fact that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a part of China, abide by the one-China principle and the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. The DPP authorities stubbornly adhere to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence" and collude with external forces to "use foreign forces to seek independence", which is doomed to fail.
RIA Novosti: According to reports, former US President and Republican candidate Trump said that he does not rule out the possibility that China will "catch up with or even surpass" the United States in terms of nuclear arsenal. In an interview with entrepreneur Musk on the social media platform X, he said: "Russia and the United States are in the first place, while China is far behind, but it is not surprising that they are developing very rapidly, and China will eventually catch up with or even surpass us." What is China's comment on this?
Lin Jian: China has no comment on the remarks made during the US election. China's nuclear arsenal is not at the same level as that of the United States. At the same time, China pursues a policy of no first use of nuclear weapons, adheres to a nuclear strategy of self-defense, always maintains its nuclear forces at the minimum level required for national security, and does not engage in an arms race with anyone.
CNN: According to space monitoring agencies and the U.S. Space Command, China's Long March 6 carrier rocket disintegrated in low-Earth orbit last week after launching from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center on August 6. According to multiple space debris tracking agencies, this led to the formation of a debris cloud consisting of hundreds of pieces. Can China confirm and provide the latest monitoring information? What measures is China taking to monitor and deal with the debris, and what measures has it taken to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future? (Reporters from Bloomberg, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and RIA Novosti also asked)
Lin Jian: The relevant activities are activities for the peaceful use of outer space carried out in accordance with international law and international practice. China has taken necessary measures and is closely monitoring the relevant orbital areas and conducting data analysis. As a responsible major country, China attaches great importance to space debris mitigation, actively fulfills relevant international obligations in outer space activities, regulates its own space activities, requires the implementation of space debris mitigation measures after satellites and launch vehicles complete their missions, promotes the protection of the outer space environment, and maintains the long-term sustainability of outer space activities.
AP: Has China made direct or indirect contact with Iran regarding its threat to launch a retaliatory strike for the killing of Haniyeh in Tehran? Has China urged Iran not to launch a strike? If so, on what grounds? Has China made contact with Hamas or other relevant parties regarding their decision not to participate in ceasefire talks?
Lin Jian: China has repeatedly called on the international community to quell the Gaza conflict as soon as possible and prevent its spillover effects from continuing to expand, and has been playing an active role in easing regional tensions. China supports all efforts that help achieve a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza, and is willing to work with the international community to promote cooling of the regional situation and avoid further escalation of conflicts and confrontations.
Japanese TV Asahi reporter: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced that he will not participate in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election. What is the spokesperson's comment on this? How does China evaluate Kishida's performance as prime minister in the past three years? What impact will Kishida's resignation have on Sino-Japanese relations? (Reporters from Kyodo News, Asahi Shimbun, and Yomiuri Shimbun also asked)
Lin Jian: We have noted the relevant situation. This is Japan's internal affairs and China will not comment on it. China and Japan are important neighbors to each other. We are willing to work with Japan to comprehensively promote the strategic and mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries on the basis of the four political documents between China and Japan, and promote the construction of a constructive and stable China-Japan relationship that meets the requirements of the new era.
