US society needs to wipe out ignorance about the Taiwan question and the national feelings of the Chinese people, said a Chinese media report as it reiterated the recent message conveyed by the Chinese ambassador to the US that Washington's support for Taiwan's might lead to a military conflict between the two sides.
An editorial published in China's Global Times said the views expressed by Chinese ambassador Qin Gang were not only a clear signal to US political elites, but "he also intended to let more Americans realize the seriousness of the consequences of "using Taiwan to contain the Chinese mainland."
This publication, which is regarded as the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, said the extensive provocations by the US in the Taiwan Straits have accumulated enormous risks, but such a sensitive situation has not received enough attention in the US.
"US politicians and elites just play dumb, and under their misguidance, the American public either does not know the seriousness of the Taiwan question or cannot tell right from wrong. This contrast entails risks," the editorial read.
Taiwan has been governed independently for over seven decades. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan, which is a territory with its own democratically-elected government, maintains that it is an autonomous country.
On Friday, Qin Gang told the US radio station NPR had said, "If, you know the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the US, you know, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely will involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in the military conflict."
This interview comes a few days ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics next month. Tensions have been rising between the two countries since the US announced a "diplomatic boycott" of the Games in protest of what it terms the "ongoing genocide" of Uyghurs.
These remarks come as Beijing has not ruled out military force to take Taiwan and has kept the pressure on the democratic island over the past few years with frequent warplane flights into Taiwan's air defence identification zone.
( With inputs from ANI )
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