Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities must bear full responsibility for any consequences arising from their provocations, said Zhang Han, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, at a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
At a regular news conference, Zhang said the Chinese mainland possesses sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands, including the Dongsha Islands and their adjacent waters.
"Law enforcement patrols by the mainland's coast guard authorities in the relevant waters constitute the normal exercise of its official duties. If the DPP authorities dare to provoke trouble, they must bear all the consequences arising from it," the spokeswoman said. A mainland coast guard vessel conducted patrol operations in the waters around the Dongsha Islands on Friday. The DPP authorities claimed that the vessel had entered the so-called restricted waters surrounding the islands, triggering a standoff between vessels from the two sides.
Taiwan's DPP warned over Dongsha Islands maritime standoff
Foreign passenger traffic from APEC member economies at Shenzhen Airport hit a historic high of 1.25 million in the first ten months of this year, local border inspection authorities said on Monday, as the city prepares to host the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting later this month.
The 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, from November 18 to 19, with preparations in the final stretch.
As the meeting approaches, the airport port is seeing another surge in passenger flow, with international flights from APEC member economies including South Korea, Mexico and Malaysia arriving in succession at noon on Monday.
In addition to the APEC meeting, visa-free policies and the expansion of the international route network have driven notable growth in foreign passenger flows this year. In the first ten months, foreign nationals entering and exiting through the airport port totaled about 1.56 million passenger trips, up 27.7 percent year on year and a record high for the same period, according to the border inspection station.
A total of 1.25 million foreign nationals from APEC member economies received border inspection, up 29.6 percent year on year, also a record high for the same period. Travelers from Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States ranked among the top sources.
Shenzhen Airport sees record passenger traffic from APEC economies in first ten months
