The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday denounced Russian President Vladimir Putin for disparaging Taiwan’s sovereignty by saying that Taiwan issues are “China’s internal affairs.”
The ministry strongly condemned Putin’s “false” remarks that “undermined the sovereignty of the Republic of China,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing.
Xinhua news agency cited Putin as telling Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a telephone call on Wednesday that Russia opposed any interference from external forces in China’s internal affairs, such as in Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Screengrab from the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s virtual news conference
Ou said that Taiwanese elect their government in free and fair elections, adding that only the government in Taipei can represent Taiwan.
Beijing’s irredentist claims only cause resentment among Taiwanese, she said.
In the face of Beijing’s long-term threats to Taiwan, the government and the public are determined to fight Chinese intimidation, Ou said, adding that their determination is based on the belief that “God helps those who help themselves.”
The government will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s ties with like-minded democratic nations to solicit their support, she added.
By safeguarding freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, Taiwan makes significant contributions to the development and stability of the global economy, she said, calling it a powerful tool to counter China’s authoritarian expansion.
The government will keep boosting Taiwan’s self-defense and asymmetric warfare capabilities, deepening its ties with the US to safeguard a rules-based international order, and promoting peace, stability and prosperity across the Taiwan Strait and in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.
The ministry also thanked the US for reiterating that it would ensure that Taiwan has the ability to defend itself and deter aggression.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the remarks in an interview with the US’ Public Broadcasting Service on Tuesday.
He said that China has over the past decade been “acting more repressively at home and more aggressively abroad,” including through actions against Taiwan, which are “potentially dangerous and destabilizing.”
He urged China to take into consideration the response that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine provoked from countries around the world.
Moreover, the US has promised Taiwan’s safety under its Taiwan Relations Act, Blinken said.
Additional reporting by CNA
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2