During a routine press conference on October 23, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian addressed a question regarding Taiwan. He stated, “Taiwan is a province of China; there is no such thing as a ‘Ministry of Defense’ in Taiwan, nor is there a ‘Minister of Defense.'”

The inquiry arose from reports by the Taiwan “Ministry of Defense” that claimed they were monitoring a Chinese aircraft carrier passing through the Taiwan Strait. A foreign media reporter asked if China could confirm this information and noted that the Taiwanese minister had equated a blockade of Taiwan to an act of war.

In response, Lin emphasized that Taiwan is part of China and reinforced that Chinese aircraft carrier activities are completely normal. He added, “I also want to highlight that no matter what the Taiwan authorities say or do, it cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China. It also does not alter the inevitable trend of reunification.”