The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned a joint statement issued by China and Vietnam that asserted Taiwan is a part of China.
The Republic of China is a sovereign and independent country and it is not subordinate to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), MOFA said in a statement.
The PRC has never ruled Taiwan, it said in the statement, which also criticized Beijing for consistently spreading rhetoric that undermines Taiwan’s sovereignty in international settings.
Photo: EPA
MOFA’s comments came one day after Vietnam and China issued a joint statement on strengthening their strategic cooperative partnership, following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to Hanoi on Monday and Tuesday.
In that statement, Vietnam also said it “supported ... the cause of China’s unification, [and] resolutely opposes any separatist activity seeking ‘Taiwan independence.’”
MOFA said that it “strongly condemns” the two governments’ claims that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory,” noting that the joint statement was “a serious departure from facts.”
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