The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday protested to Brazil’s top envoy to Taiwan after he reiterated in an interview that his government considers Taiwan to be part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
“MOFA expressed strong dissatisfaction over [Commercial Office of Brazil to Taipei] Director Luis Claudio Villafane Gomes Santos’ untrue and inappropriate remarks,” the ministry said in a statement.
MOFA reiterated that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent and sovereign nation, and that neither it nor the PRC is subordinate to the other, adding that these are objective facts widely recognized by the international community.
Photo: CNA
The Commercial Office of Brazil to Taipei functions as Brazil’s de facto embassy in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
In a Chinese-language interview published on Sunday by online news outlet Up Media, Santos was asked whether his work in Taipei had been affected by a November 2024 joint statement issued by the PRC and Brazil.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has described Taiwan as part of the PRC.
In the 2024 statement, Brazil reaffirmed its adherence to the “one China” principle, stating that it recognized that there is only “one China” in the world and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory.
It also said that the PRC government is the sole legal government representing all of China.
Santos told Up Media that Brazil has maintained that position since it severed formal diplomatic ties with the ROC in favor of Beijing in 1974.
He added that Brazil does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, in line with the position of most countries worldwide.
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