Print

Mail

wiki links

UN REFERENDUM: Danish readers pan Chinese official

A number of Danes have written to Denmark's largest circulation daily newspaper to take a Chinese diplomat to task for his unjustifiable remarks about Taiwan and express their support for the nation.

The Jutland Post contributed a half-page in last Tuesday's edition to publishing readers' letters in support of Taiwan. Most of the letters were written to rebuke Jin Zhijian (金智健), a counselor with the Chinese embassy in Copenhagen, who claimed in a letter published in the Post dated Sept. 6 that "according to the Cairo Declaration [1943] and the Potsdam Proclamation [1945], Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China."

Jin wrote to the Danish daily in response to Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳), who published an article in the Post on Aug. 25 about the nation's bid to enter the UN using the name "Taiwan."

Kenneth Stormoen, one of those who wrote to the daily, dismissed Jin's claims, saying that the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and UN Resolution 2758 seemed logical on the surface, but in fact their meanings and stipulations were unclear and therefore do not provide a solution to the question of Taiwan's status.

Stormoen said if the three historical documents had been clearly defined, the so-called "Taiwan issue" would not have been left unresolved for so long.

Another reader said in a letter that China had suppressed Tibet and its people for decades, and was now attempting a forced annexation of Taiwan. The reader said maintaining the status quo was not actually what the people of Taiwan wanted. Instead, the current stasis was a result of intimidation by the Chinese military, he said.

Also responding to Jin's claim, Pia Kjaersgaard, chairwoman and cofounder of the Danish People's Party -- the third largest political party in Denmark, which regards itself as center-right -- almost immediately issued a statement saying that Jin's letter to the newspaper was an attempt to cover up the fact that the People's Republic of China's sovereignty has not for a single day extended to the island of Taiwan.

Kjaersgaard said that from now on, the Danish People's Party would extend every assistance to help Taiwan be accepted as a normal member of the international community.
This story has been viewed 2109 times.