Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Friday said that Taiwan’s future should not rely on the goodwill of China’s leaders, Taiwan-based Taiwan News said.

The MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said that the key issue of the crisis between the two countries is China’s refusal to acknowledge the objective existence of Taiwan, Taiwan News said.

Chui-cheng said that China’s propaganda and threats were the root cause of the air of uncertainty across the state of Taiwan Strait, Taiwan News said.

Chiu defended President Lai Ching-te’s policy of maintaining the status quo to safeguard regional peace and stability, Taiwan News reported, quoting Radio Taiwan International. He said the government will stand by the Constitution and that Taiwan is a separate entity with its sovereignty, repeating a comment from Lai’s May 20 inauguration speech, which had angered China.

He also reiterated its call on Taiwanese travelers to exert caution if they need to travel to China, Hong Kong, or Macau. They should register at the MAC website before their trip to obtain assistance when necessary.

The concern over the safety of Taiwanese travelers peaked after China threatened to sentence supporters of Taiwan’s independence to death last month. As a result of the Chinese threat, Taiwan raised its travel advisory from yellow to orange, cautioning against non-essential travel.

Earlier on Thursday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) shadowed four China Coast Guard vessels that entered Taiwan-controlled waters around offshore Kinmen County.

In a statement, the CGA said that four Chinese vessels approached the outer boundary of “restricted” waters around Kinmen and intruded into Taiwan-controlled waters at 7 am (local time) from four different points to the east and southeast of Liaoluo Bay, the south of Zhaishan, and the south of Fengzui.

It was China Coast Guard vessels’ first intrusion in July and 31st in 2024, according to Taiwan’s CGA.