The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed gratitude toward the US for reiterating its support for cross-strait peace following a round of high-level talks between US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) held over the weekend.
Washington and Beijing late on Saturday separately announced that Sullivan and Wang, who is also a Chinese Communist Party Politburo member and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, met in Bangkok on Friday and Saturday.
Both sides said the round of talks was meant to follow up on the San Francisco summit of US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in November last year that included issues related to Russia’s war against Ukraine, the Middle East, North Korea, the South China Sea and Myanmar.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The talks were part of an effort “to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage competition in the relationship as directed by the leaders,” the White House said in its statement.
Sullivan stressed that although the two world powers “are in competition, both countries need to prevent it from veering into conflict or confrontation,” it said.
Regarding cross-strait relations, Sullivan “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” the White House said.
“Sullivan reiterated that the United States remains committed to our One China policy guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Communiques,” it said. “He indicated the US opposes unilateral changes to the status quo from either side, that we do not support Taiwan independence, and that we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved peacefully.”
A separate statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wang stressed during the two-day meeting that “the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair, and the election in the Taiwan region cannot change the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China,” referring to the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13.
“The biggest risk to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is the so-called ‘Taiwan independence’ movement. The biggest challenge to China-US relations is also the ‘Taiwan independence’ movement,” it added.
MOFA yesterday thanked Washington for reiterating its support for cross-strait peace and stability, but it denounced Wang’s remarks that “the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair.”
In its statement, MOFA reiterated that the Republic of China is a sovereign and independent country and that neither it nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other.
These facts and the “status quo” have long been recognized by the international community, with the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections marking yet another demonstration of its “mature and healthy democracy,” which received widespread international acclaim and congratulatory messages from more than 100 countries, MOFA said.
“No distorted narrative on Taiwan’s sovereign status by China can alter the fact nor the status quo,” it added.
Beijing has been attempting to change the “status quo” by being provocative and threatening Taipei, the ministry said.
That China repeatedly uses cross-strait issues to pressure other countries and to drive a wedge between Taiwan and others demonstrate that Beijing is “the troublemaker damaging regional and cross-strait peace and stability,” it added.
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