Taiwan on Monday terminated diplomatic relations with Nauru, after the Pacific nation announced it was to recognize the People’s Republic of China (PRC), effective immediately.
Nauruan President David Adeang made the announcement in a video posted online on Monday afternoon.
The Nauru government said that "in the best interests" of the country and its people, it was seeking full resumption of diplomatic relations with China.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
"This means that the Republic of Nauru will no longer recognize the Republic of China (Taiwan) as a separate country, but rather as an inalienable part of China's territory, and will sever 'diplomatic relations' with Taiwan as of this day and no longer develop any official relations or official exchanges with Taiwan," it said in a statement.
Nauru established relations with Taiwan in 1980, then switched to recognize the PRC in 2002 before re-establishing relations with Taiwan in 2005.
The decision leaves Taiwan with 12 allies, including other Pacific nations Palau, the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu.
In a news conference called to respond to the decision, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would sever ties, after Nauru made its announcement citing UN Resolution 2758 and the “one China” principle.
Taiwan would also immediately cease all bilateral cooperation, withdraw its staff and technical missions, and requested that Nauru close its embassy in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said.
On X, the ministry said it regrets the end of relations between the two countries.
"This timing is not only China’s retaliation against our democratic elections but also a direct challenge to the international order," it said. "Taiwan stands unbowed & will continue as a force for good."
Additional reporting by CNA and Reuters
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his
‘SOVEREIGN AI’: As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for having computing power of 103 petaflops. The governments wants to achieve 1,200 by 2029 The government would intensify efforts to bolster its “Sovereign Artificial Intelligence [AI]” program by setting a goal of elevating the nation’s collective computing power in the public and private sectors to 1,200 peta floating points per second (petaflops) by 2029, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The goal was set to fulfill President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of turning Taiwan into an “AI island.” Sovereign AI refers to a nation’s capabilities to produce AI using its own infrastructure, data, workforce and business networks. One petaflop allows 1 trillion calculations per second. As of Nov. 19 last year, Taiwan was globally ranked No. 11 for