Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and brooks no interference by any external forces, Chen Binhua, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
In response to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's claim that "Taiwan is not just China's business but the world's business," the spokesperson reiterated that Taiwan question brooks no external interference.
"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and the Taiwan question is China's internal affair. Addressing the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, and it brooks no external interference. The activities of Taiwan secessionist forces and foreign interference are the biggest threat to undermine the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," said the spokesman.
"If the U.S. side truly hopes for cross-Strait peace and stability, it should abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, handle the Taiwan question with extra prudence, unequivocally oppose Taiwan secessionist forces, and support China's peaceful reunification," said Chen.
Taiwan question brooks no external interference: spokesman
Twenty-nine survivors were found in the passenger plane crash in Aktau, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) reported.
An Embraer 190 aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines with flight number J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny crashed near Aktau Airport on Wednesday with a total of 67 people on board.
According to the MES, 482 people are involved in the rescue on site, as well as 97 pieces of equipment, two aircraft and four teams of search and rescue dogs.
A group of electric power workers near the crash site were among the first batch of rescuers, who said they helped save around 15 people at the scene.
"We saw the plane crash with our own eyes and quickly packed up to head to the scene for rescue. Later, personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Situations and hospital staff members arrived. About 10 of us went there. We brought a crane to help rescue people from the cabin," a rescuer said.
The emergency departments of Kazakhstan, Russia and Azerbaijan exchanged information via video conference.
According to Subkhonkul Rakhimov, a survivor of the crash, the plane suddenly rose rapidly and began to increase its altitude when it was about to land in Grozny. There was heavy fog at the time, and the crew tried to land the plane in Grozny three times, but all failed. An explosion occurred during the third attempt to land.
29 survivors rescued from plane crash in Kazakhstan
