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.
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.
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.
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.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique