The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday accused Chinese media of attempting to mislead the world by purposefully confusing the “policy of a single China” mentioned in the joint communique signed by Italy and China on Saturday with Beijing’s “one China” principle.
The communique was issued during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Rome, and Italy simply reiterated its conformity to the “one China” policy followed by the EU, the ministry said said in a press release.
“However, Chinese media deliberately translated the [Italian for] ‘one China’ policy into Beijing’s frequently cited ‘one China’ principle in an apparent attempt to confuse the international community and to unilaterally distort policy discourse about the ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait,” it said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
It said such a move is reprehensible and not conducive to cross-strait relations or the maintenance of peace and stability in the region.
A copy of the Italian-language communique released on Saturday by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development on its Web site said that the two nations agreed to develop their global strategic partnership on the basis of mutual respect for their respective sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Italy confirmed its adherence to “the policy of a single China,” it said.
However, the Chinese translation of the communique published by China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday on its Web site said that Italy reiterated its adherence to the “‘one China’ principle.”
Beijing’s “one China” principle states that there is only one China, of which Taiwan is a part, with the People’s Republic of China being the only legitimate government representing China.
Different nations have varied stances on their policy of “one China,” with the US merely “acknowledging” China’s stance.
The foreign ministry said the memorandum of understanding in support of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative should not have carried a political statement.
“Yet China’s unilateral attempt to smuggle the ‘one China’ principle into it goes to show there is a political agenda behind its Belt and Road Initiative and that the strategy is merely a policy tool to exert its influence and engage in predatory economic behaviors,” the foreign ministry said.
It has asked Italy to provide an explanation regarding the content of the communique to ensure that Taiwan’s interests are not affected.
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying