The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs today condemned China’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying’s (華春瑩) latest comments on UN Resolution 2758, adding that the people of Taiwan would not accept China’s “blatant and egregious” bullying.
German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul, meanwhile, yesterday discussed Taiwan with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅), invoking the UN Charter, which prohibits the use of force to resolve international disputes, to refute China’s misuse and misinterpretation of Resolution 2758, Representative to Germany Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said in a social media post.
Hua addressed the Third Forum on Developing Countries and International Law in Beijing on Thursday last week.
Photo: Reuters
Any individual or any country that attempts to distort or hollow out UN Resolution 2758 is “violating China’s territorial integrity and sovereignty” in a “flagrant provocation of post-war international order,” Hua said.
Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, states that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government of China, a move which enabled it to replace the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan’s official name, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
China continues to misinterpret, misuse and distort Resolution 2758 to serve its political agenda, the DPP Department of China Affairs said today.
Resolution 2758 covers the PRC’s right to represent China in the UN, and was used to replace the ROC under former ROC president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), which then claimed to represent China, on the Security Council, it said.
It does not, however, make any claims concerning Taiwan’s sovereignty or state that Taiwan, or any other individuals, cannot be represented in the UN, it added.
Moreover, the resolution does not restrict any country's sovereign right to engage in relations with Taiwan, nor does it exclude Taiwan from participating in the UN or other international bodies, the department said.
China is attempting to manipulate the international community and spread the false narrative that “Taiwan is part of China,” by using phrases such as “violating China’s sovereignty” and “defending international law,” it said.
The PRC wishes to limit Taiwan’s space in the international community, block its participation in international bodies and eliminate its sovereign status, it added.
Taiwan has the right to self-identification and a sense of international responsibility, the DPP said, adding that Taiwan would continue to uphold the values of democracy, freedom and human rights, while contributing to global freedom, rule of law and sustainable development.
It would continue to participate in global forums and initiatives to fulfil its responsibilities and commitments to the international community, it said.
In other news, Shieh said in a post on Facebook that Wadephul, Germany’s Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs, yesterday met with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang.
At the eighth round of China-Germany Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security in Berlin, Wadephul said, “The UN Charter prohibits the use of force to resolve disputes, which also applies to the Taiwan Strait,” Shieh said in the post.
Shieh said that after many years working as a representative in Germany, he was relieved and grateful to finally hear those words.
Germany publicly refuted China’s misinterpretation and misuse of Resolution 2758 by invoking the UN Charter, he added.
Although Germany maintains a “one China” policy, Shieh quoted Wadepuhl as saying that “if tensions in Taiwan or the South China Sea were to escalate out of control, it would affect the interests of the entire world, including Europe and Germany.”
“Any changes to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait may only occur peacefully and with mutual agreement from both sides,” he added.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taiwan is bracing for a political shake-up as a majority of directly elected lawmakers from the main opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) face the prospect of early removal from office in an unprecedented wave of recall votes slated for July 26 and Aug. 23. The outcome of the public votes targeting 26 KMT lawmakers in the next two months — and potentially five more at later dates — could upend the power structure in the legislature, where the KMT and the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) currently hold a combined majority. After denying direct involvement in the recall campaigns for months, the
RSS