US-Taiwan exchanges firmly opposed, official says

China firmly opposes any official exchanges between the US and Taiwan, which is part of China, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday.

Ma made the remarks in response to the US's decision to send its top health official, Alex M. Azar II, and a delegation to visit Taiwan. The US Health and Human Services Department said in a statement on Tuesday the trip by Azar, the HHS secretary, will mark the highest-level visit to Taiwan by a US Cabinet official since 1979.

Ma said the Taiwan issue belongs to China's internal affairs and no external forces are allowed to interfere. He urged the US side to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three Sino-US communiques, which acknowledge Taiwan is a part of China.

He said Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities rely on foreign forces to built themselves up and are willing to be a puppet of and collude with the US side to gain political interests, harming the common interests of compatriots across the Straits.

"It is very dangerous and impossible to succeed," he added.