JAKARTA - Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Saturday accused China of wanting to "copy" the Taliban. He said Taiwan, which Beijing claims as a sovereign Chinese territory, does not want to be the subject of communism or crimes against humanity.
The brief fall of the US-backed Afghan government to the Taliban has sparked a heated debate in Taiwan about whether they could suffer the same fate as the Chinese invasion.
Chinese state media said what happened in Kabul showed Taiwan that they could not trust Washington.
Responding to the US State Department's statement asking China to stop pressuring the island, Wu took to Twitter to express his gratitude to the US for raising the hopes and best interests of the Taiwanese people.
"Including democracy & freedom from communism, authoritarianism & crimes against humanity," Wu tweeted.
"China dreams of imitating the Taliban, but let me be honest: We have the will & the means to defend ourselves," Wu said without elaborating.
There was no immediate response from China as the Taiwan Affairs Office did not answer calls for comment outside of business days.
China intends to build ties with the Taliban, although it is still concerned about the impact it could have on the emergence of insurgent groups in Xinjiang.
Afghanistan has been a recent issue debated by Taiwan and China.
Taiwan has complained of increased Chinese military and diplomatic pressure in recent months, including war games near the island nation, sparking concerns from the United States and other Western powers.
Taiwan is a democracy whose people have shown little interest in being ruled by China's autocratic government.
Beijing is also angered by US support for Taiwan, including arms sales, even though the Taipei government has no diplomatic relations with Washington.
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