A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Israel stated: “The Chinese side strongly opposes any form of official exchange with Taiwanese authorities, as it constitutes a blatant violation of the One China Principle.” This refers to Beijing’s principle that there is only “One China” and that Taiwan is an integral part of China, according to the “Times of Israel.” Israel officially recognizes only Beijing and not Taipei, and visits by senior Taiwanese diplomats to countries like Israel are rare, according to the Israeli newspaper. Three sources reported to Western media that Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Francois Wu, recently made an unannounced visit to Israel, where Taiwan sought to enhance defense cooperation with Tel Aviv. The “Times of Israel” added that the Chinese embassy refrained from commenting on whether it was aware of the alleged visit, and the Israeli Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
