Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) called China a regional “troublemaker” after the Solomon Islands blocked Taiwan and other dialogue partners, including the US and China, from participating in the 54th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting on Sept. 8.
He made the remark in an interview with Australian daily newspaper the Australian released last week.
Lin said he believed Beijing’s pressure was behind the Solomon Islands’ decision to exclude all dialogue and development partners from the meeting this year.
Photo: Taipei Times
However, as the US and China have embassies in the Solomon Islands, they would be able to communicate with the forum’s participants in unofficial settings, but Taiwan would be excluded, he said.
Although Taiwan would be absent from this year’s meeting, it would continue to seeking different channels to contribute to the region, Lin said.
Excluding Taiwan, which has long been a regional development partner, is “a loss for the island nations in the Pacific,” he added.
For the Pacific island nations, the “Pacific way” stresses inclusiveness and facing challenges together, he said, adding that the absence of dialogue and development partners this year would seriously undermine those efforts.
As the 18 PIF member states take turns holding the leaders’ meeting, Palau, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan, would host the event next year, Lin said.
Taiwan looks forward to attending the forum next year and demonstrating how it can contribute to and participate in the development of Pacific island nations, he added.
In another article recently published in the Australian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian (肖千) said that some people are trying to challenge the authority of UN Resolution 2758 by saying that Taiwan’s status is “uncertain” and that “the People’s Republic of China [PRC] has never ruled over Taiwan” to blur and hollow out the so-called “one China” principle.
The PRC has never ruled Taiwan for even a single day, and the 158-word UN 2758 Resolution makes no mention of Taiwan, Lin said.
The Australian parliament last year passed a motion rejecting Beijing’s misinterpretation of the resolution, he said.
Taiwan fulfills all the criteria of statehood, including having its own people, land and government, and being able to exercise sovereignty, he said.
Calling China’s claims “the emperor’s new clothes,” he said that “telling a lie 100 times does not make it true.”
Facing China’s suppression in the international arena and its propaganda campaign, Taiwan is striving for more support through international collaborations, substantial contributions and continuously speaking out, he added.
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