Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

When asked for comments on a China Center newly established within the Hudson Institute, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that academic institutes should serve as bridges between different countries creating understanding and cooperation rather than distributing lies.

Zhao pointed out that the Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank. It had served as a platform for former US vice president Mike Pence and former US secretary of state Pompeo for their anti-China speeches. It had also accepted financial support from the island of Taiwan to help secessionist forces on the island to make secessionist speeches.    

The Hudson Institute established a China Center in May this year, with former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo as a "distinguished fellow" and anti-China figure Miles Yu as its director. 

The center has been established to collude with anti-China parties, to concoct and disseminate anti-China rhetoric in order to cope with the so-called threats from the Communist Party of China, the Global Times learned from sources familiar with the matter.

Both Yu and Pompeo visited Taiwan in March during a high-profile trip that saw them meet the regional leader of the Taiwan island Tsai Ing-wen and deputy regional leader Lai Ching-te as well as other regional officials. The two had also met with business, academic and civil society representatives such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Chair Morris Chang, according to media on the island. 

The US government has been touting a so-called Chips Alliance proposal to chip manufacturing powerhouses in the Asia-Pacific region - South Korea, Japan and the island of Taiwan - in an apparent attempt to kick the Chinese mainland out of the global chip supply chain. In a recent move, the US tried luring ASEAN members to decouple from China at a Washington summit with Southeast Asian leaders in May. 

In March, Pompeo, the institute's distinguished fellow, made preposterous remarks such as urging the US to "recognize Taiwan as sovereign nation," and to establish official diplomatic ties with the island, which was published on the institute's website. 

According to media reports, the institute has also taken sponsorship from the Taiwan authorities, and invited Taiwan's regional leader Tsai Ing-wen as well as Hsiao Bi-khim, the island of Taiwan's representative in the US, to take part in online events to promote Taiwan secessionism.

Global Times