Mon, Feb 20, 2023 page1

• MAC slams Wang Yi’s Taiwan claim

  ‘DISTORTING TRUTH’: The MAC reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign nation, after China’s top diplomat said Taiwanese independence is ‘incompatible with peace’

  • By Chen Yu-fu / Staff reporter
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  The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday protested against claim by China’s top diplomat Wang Yi (王毅) that Taiwan is part of China.

  At the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, Wang, the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior foreign policy official, said that “Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times. It is never a country and never will be a country.”

  It is not China that wants to change the “status quo,” but those “separatists who advocate for Taiwan’s independence do,” he said, adding that calling for Taiwanese independence is incompatible with peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

  

  Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Only by opposing it and following the “one China” principle can peace across the Strait be maintained, he said.

  Just as countries around the world call for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to be maintained, Chinese sovereignty and territorial integrity should be protected, he said, adding that “there shouldn’t be double standards on major issues.”

  Using Taiwan’s official name, the MAC said in a statement yesterday that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign nation that has never been and never will be a part of the People’s Republic of China.

  

  Taiwanese flags fly during Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei on Oct. 10 last year.

  Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg

  The “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait is that the “two sides across the Strait do not belong to one another,” it said, adding that the “one China” principle is China’s attempt to belittle Taiwan and distort the truth.

  China’s attempt to mislead other countries has never been recognized by the international community, the MAC said.

  While the world jointly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began almost a year ago, there are heightened concerns about Taiwan’s security, it said.

  

  From left, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin stand together during their meeting at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Beijing lacks the courage to condemn Russia’s aggression, and instead calls the global “consensus” against authoritarian expansionism “double standards,” which only adds to the international community’s doubts and opposition against it, it said.

  The MAC called on Beijing to adjust its coercive position against Taiwan and take on the responsibility of maintaining regional security and improving cross-strait relations.

  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi in separate meetings with Wang on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference reiterated the importance of peace across the Taiwan Strait.

  Blinken, during an informal meeting with Wang, said that the US has not changed its “one China” policy, and underlined the importance of maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, the US Department of State said in a statement.

  Blinken also reiterated US President Joe Biden’s position that the US would defend its values and interests, but does not want conflict with China or seek a new Cold War, adding that it is important for the two countries to maintain effective communication channels.

  The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Hayashi and Wang talked for about 50 minutes, during which time Hayashi restated his nation’s position regarding “specific balloon-shaped flying objects” detected in Japan’s airspace, and demanded that intrusions into its airspace never happen again.

  Japan is deeply concerned about the situation in the East China Sea, including the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) in the East China Sea — known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan — and the frequent military actions taken by China and Russia around Japan, Hayashi said, adding that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is also important.

  This story has been amended since it was first published.
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