On March 17, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning commented on a reporter's inquiry concerning that Taiwan regional authorities attempt to rename existing overseas offices.

CCTV: Sources say that the Taiwan authorities are going to set foreign missions in a handful of countries or use the term “Taiwan” over “Taipei” in relevant institutions. What's your comment?

Mao Ning: The one-China principle is a well-recognized norm in international relations, a prevailing consensus in the international community and the political foundation for China to establish and grow its relations with other countries. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan is never a country, not in the past, and never in the future.

For quite some time, the DPP authorities have used exchange and cooperation in economy, trade, technology, culture, and education, among other fields, as a pretext to drill through the rock-solid international commitment to the one-China principle, and expand so-called“international space." They have coerced or cajoled other countries through dollar diplomacy and bribes to set new institutions or rename existing ones in some countries, tempt them to cross, trample on or make moves on the margins of the red line of the Taiwan question, and destroy their relations with China. Our message to the DPP authorities is that China's reunification cannot be hindered, and relying on external forces for independence cannot succeed.

China has all along opposed official interaction of any form between the Taiwan authorities and countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We hope relevant countries will see through the Taiwan authorities’ ill-intentioned schemes, abide by the one-China principle with concrete actions, and uphold the political foundation of their relations with China.