The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that comments by French luxury goods brand Christian Dior about the nation’s sovereignty were regrettable and untrue, while condemning Beijing for interfering in the management of international companies.
Dior early yesterday morning issued a statement on its Chinese Web site that it “always respects and upholds the one China principle, strictly safeguards China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and treasures the feelings of the Chinese people,” after it used a map of China that excluded Taiwan during a presentation at Gongshang University in Zhejiang Province.
Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said that it was regrettable to see Dior make a statement that was factually incorrect.
“Taiwan is not part of China, nor is it a part of any province of the People’s Republic of China and it has never been governed, even for a day, by the People’s Republic of China,” Ou said.
International companies should refrain from making politicized statements or taking sides, nor should they be pressured to make factually incorrect statements, she said.
Ou criticized Beijing for interfering in the management of international companies, adding that its actions are “barbaric and contravene the spirit of international commercial independence.”
She called on Beijing to stop digging itself into a deeper quagmire.
The international community should not stand silent and should call out Beijing for bullying other nations, she said, adding that the international community must take action to uphold the dignity and autonomy of corporations.
Beijing’s intimidation of Dior today could lead to Beijing pressuring, or invading, nations in the future, the ministry said.
This is an act that disrupts the cross-strait “status quo,” the ministry said, calling on like-minded nations to help resist oppression.
The ministry has contacted Dior to convey Taiwan’s position and to urge the company to be strong and not bow to Chinese pressure.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS