G20 nations “will pay a price” for backing Taiwan’s bid to participate in the UN, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said on Friday.
Wang’s comments came three days after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urged UN member states to support Taiwan’s “robust, meaningful participation throughout the UN system” at a news conference in Washington on Tuesday.
In a statement issued hours before Wang was to join a G20 leaders’ summit in Rome, he said that the US and its allies “could not stop the ‘one China’ principle 50 years ago, it is even more impossible in today’s world in the 21st century.”
“If they forge ahead regardless, they will definitely pay a price accordingly,” he added.
Wang reiterated Beijing’s “one China” principle, saying that there is only “one China” in the world, that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is its legitimate government and that Taiwan is a part of China’s territory.
He said that the “one China” principle is a historical and legal fact that cannot be challenged, adding that 1.4 billion Chinese cannot be stopped in their pursuit of the “peaceful reunification” of Taiwan.
UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which recognized the PRC as China’s representative in that international body, has established the legal precedent for Beijing’s claims and showed the consensus of the member states, he said.
The resolution does not mention the Republic of China or Taiwan, and does not state that the PRC represents Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who has been on a diplomatic trip to Europe since last week, wrote on Twitter that he had a “rewarding meeting” with EU lawmakers.
The group discussed issues including a proposed bilateral investment agreement with Taiwan and the nation’s pursuit for inclusion in the UN, he said, adding: “Taiwan is not alone.”
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