People wearing protective masks in TaipeiMOSCOW, Jan 29 Washington's support for Taiwan's independence threatens armed conflict between the US and China, said Chinese Ambassador Qin Gang in an interview with US radio station NPR. he said. The diplomat called Taiwan «the biggest powder keg» in relations between Beijing and Washington. He emphasized that China seeks peaceful reunification with the island, but will not give up military means, as this is a deterrent. Official relations between the central government of the PRC and Taiwan were interrupted in 1949, after the Kuomintang forces, which were defeated in the civil war, led with Chiang Kai-shek moved to the island. Business and informal contacts between the parties resumed in the late 1980s, since the early 1990s, Beijing and Taipei began to contact through non-governmental organizations — the Beijing Association for the Development of Relations across the Taiwan Strait and the Taipei Cross-Strait Exchange Foundation. At the same time, Beijing insists on the «One China Policy «. It implies that Taiwan is an integral part of Chinese territory, and that the PRC authorities are the only legitimate Chinese government. China does not recognize Taiwan's sovereignty and is jealous of other countries' contacts with the island. In particular, the Chinese authorities have repeatedly urged Washington to stop any official and military support for Taipei.
