US calls on China not to interfere in Taiwan election

The United States on Thursday urged China not to interfere in elections next month in Taiwan, where President Tsai Ing-wen, a critic of Beijing, is seeking a new term.

David Stilwell, the top US diplomat for Asia, said that tensions have historically risen whenever Taiwan goes to the polls.

"They should not," he said of the tensions.

"The concern always exists for somehow meddling -- interfering -- in internal affairs there."
Stilwell said that the United States, through its policy of providing arms to the self-ruling island while recognizing only Beijing, sought for differences between the two sides to be "resolved through dialogue and without violence or coercion or threats."