The new President of Taiwan, William Lai, soon after his inauguration urged China to “stop threatening” the island nation. Lai, who took office on May 20, called out the People’s Republic of China for “intimidating” the island nation and not respecting their democratic establishment.

The Chinese government has by far abstained itself from stating anything in regards of Lai’s inauguration. However, reacting to Lai’s statement China warned Taiwan of losing its independence. Reacting to the same, China commented, “Taiwan independence is a dead end” as per BBC.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin called Taiwan’s efforts to get independent “destined to fail” at a daily press briefing on Monday. He said, “Regardless of the pretext or the banner under which it is pursued, the push for Taiwan independence is destined to fail.”

Moreover, soon after Lai was sworn in as the Taiwanian President, China’s Commerce Ministry issued sanctions against several US companies, reported BBC. As per the ministry, the companies were selling arms to Taiwan.

The Taiwan-China ties have been a rather controversial one as the latter claims the island nation as its territory. The People’s Republic of China also uses force to fulfil its ambitions. Moreover, it is nothing new that Taiwan has faced pressure from China. Even though the newly elected Taiwan President had offered talks, a recent debate has arisen with this fiery speech by Lai widely known by his English name, William.

At the inauguration ceremony of William Lai, the list of attendees included U.S. officials dispatched by President Joe Biden and leaders from some of the 12 countries that Taiwan has formal diplomatic ties with. Apart from that, lawmakers from countries including Japan, Germany and Canada were also there to attend.

Beijing had upgraded its military around Taiwan’s waters and airspace since Lai had won the elections in January.