Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu (劉永健) says Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to its people, and only they have the power to decide the country’s future. Liu spoke on Tuesday in response to Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang’s (秦剛) statement that China’s constitution claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

Qin was China’s previous ambassador to the United States, and was appointed foreign minister at the end of December. He spoke earlier on Tuesday at his first press conference as minister, saying Taiwan is an internal Chinese issue and the United States should not interfere.

But Liu says Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China and that this is objective information. He adds that regardless of how Beijing tries to twist Taiwan’s position, it doesn’t change the fact that neither country is affiliated with the other.

Liu also says it’s impossible for democracy and authoritarianism to coexist, so this further demonstrates how China and Taiwan are separate entities.