China's Foreign Ministry has said that Taiwan is "not Ukraine" and has always been a part of China, following Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s call to bolster vigilance in the face of the territorial crisis in Eastern Europe.
The comments come after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cited the risk for Taiwan in a warning about the damaging global consequences if the West failed to live up to its vows to support Ukrainian independence in the face of threats from Russia.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying dismissed any link between the issues of Ukraine and Taiwan.
"Taiwan is not Ukraine," she said.
"Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of China. This is an indisputable legal and historical fact."
China claims U.S. ally Taiwan as its own territory and sees it as a breakaway province, not an independent state.
The defeated government of the Republic of China fled to the island of Taiwan in 1949 after losing to the Communists, who set up and still rule the People's Republic of China.
Tsai expressed "empathy" for Ukraine's situation because of the military threat the island faces from China.
"Our government condemns Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty ... and urges all parties to continue to resolve the disputes through peaceful and rational means," she said.
She described Taiwan and Ukraine as "fundamentally different in terms of geostrategy, geographical environment, and the importance of international supply chains."
"However, in the face of external forces attempting to manipulate the situation in Ukraine and affect the morale in Taiwan's society, all government units must be more vigilant against cognitive warfare."