China has lodged a diplomatic protest with India over a visit by a legislative delegation from Taiwan, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.
Three Taiwanese lawmakers, led by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), began their visit to New Delhi on Monday.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Geng Shuang (耿爽) told a regular press briefing in Beijing that China had lodged “solemn representations” with the Indian government over the issue.
Photo: CNA
“We have always been resolutely opposed to any country with diplomatic relations with China having any form of official exchanges — or establishment of any official institutions — with Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear-cut,” he said.
The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the visit was informal.
“Such informal groups have visited India in the past as well for business, religious and tourist purposes. I understand that they do so to China as well. There is nothing new or unusual about such visits, and political meanings should not be read into them,” the ministry said in a statement.
A DPP official in Taipei said the legislators, who were scheduled to return to Taiwan yesterday, were also in India to visit Taiwanese companies, such as China Steel, Taiwan’s biggest steel maker, which has a plant there.
Despite efforts by China and India to improve ties over recent years, deep suspicions remain, especially over a festering border dispute.
Beijing has increasingly squeezed Taiwan’s international space following President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) election last year.
A longstanding African ally of Taiwan’s, San Tome and Principe, switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in December last year.
“We have been requiring countries which have diplomatic relations with China to fulfill their commitment to the ‘one China’ principle,” Geng said.
Kuan said on Facebook yesterday that while there is also a legislative delegation currently visiting the US and another one that just returned from Malaysia and, by coincidence, met the Malaysian minister of tourism and culture, “China targeted the delegation to India by lodging a high-profile diplomatic protest, despite having said nothing about Taiwan’s other two visits.”
She said Beijing’s strong protest indicates that it does not want to see Taiwan strengthen its ties with India, which could be achieved with Taiwan’s “new southbound policy.”
“India has been a loophole in Taiwan’s diplomacy, and an incredible one,” for India is vital in maintaining Asia’s regional security and has a huge market, Kuan said, adding that Taiwan’s unfamiliarity with India has made exchange tenuous, and Taiwan should therefore be determined to correct the loophole when carrying out the new policy.
Separately yesterday, CS Huang (黃清山), chairman of Nan Liu Enterprise Co, the second-largest nonwoven fabric manufacturer in Asia, said that the company plans to build a factory in Gujarat state, hometown of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
While traveling with the trade delegation led by Kuan, Huang said that his company would invest US$20 million in the project and sees vast business potential in India.
He expects the factory to be completed in the latter half of next year, adding that once mass production starts, it could generate up to 1 billion rupees (US$14 million) in the first year and 6 billion rupees within the first five to six years.
Additional reporting by Alison Hsiao and CNA
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of