‘Taiwan is not a province’ government tells Beijing

Tue, May 23, 2017 page1

‘Taiwan is not a province’ government tells Beijing
- By Chung Li-hua and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Taiwan is not under China’s political control, the Presidential Office said yesterday in response to China’s blocking of Taiwan from attending this year’s World Heath Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland.
“Taiwan is not a province that is governed by the People’s Republic of China [PRC]. The Republic of China [ROC] is a sovereign nation,” the statement said.
The ROC government does not recognize or accept the actions of the government of the PRC, the statement added.

Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang speaks to reporters yesterday at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.

Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times

Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission Chairperson Li Bin (李斌) has all but closed the door on Taiwan’s participation at the WHO’s annual assembly until Taiwan accepts Beijing’s “one China” principle.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Li said that China had previously “agreed to let the Taiwan region attend” WHA meetings under a “special arrangement” based on acceptance of the “one China” principle, adding that the refusal of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to accept the principle “has destroyed the goodwill basis for the continuous attendance of the Taiwan region at the assembly.”

“It is the DPP itself which has set the barrier that has impeded the participation of the Taiwan region at the WHA,” Li said. “Only when the political basis that reflects the ‘one China’ principle has been confirmed can regular exchanges across the [Taiwan] Strait be sustained.”
Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) said China’s use of political reasoning to force the exclusion of Taiwan from international organizations would cause it to lose the support of the international community.
“The prevention of epidemics should have nothing to do with the borders of nations; the WHO belongs to the world,” Huang said.
Taiwanese are members of the global community and have the same rights to health as people elsewhere, he said, adding that Taiwan is committed to continuing working with the international community on health-related issues.
The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said the government has never adhered to Beijing’s “one China” principle.
The council strongly criticized China’s “confusion of the international community and attempt to conceal the facts.”
Taiwan’s years of contributions to world health have been achieved through the hard work of the public and the government, and has nothing to do with the “one China” principle, it said.
“China will not achieve its political aims by pressuring Taiwan. Doing so will only cause the two nations to drift farther apart,” the council said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said China’s insistence on adherence to the “one China” principle is unilateral and not in accordance with the facts.
The DPP said in a statement that as a sovereign nation, Taiwan’s right to join the WHO should not be unilaterally decided by Beijing.
Additional reporting by Chiu Yan-ling and AP
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