Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the government, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said separtely yesterday, responding to a joint statement by China and Myanmar on Saturday.
According to the statement issued as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) wrapped up a two-day visit to Naypyidaw, which was posted on the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Web site, Myanmar said that it firmly adheres to the “one China” principle and recognizes Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang as inalienable parts of the PRC’s territory, and that it supports Beijing’s efforts to resolve issues relating to Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang.
Beijing’s forceful push for its “one China” principle is not beneficial to cross-strait relations, and harms regional peace and stability, Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) said.
China should be aware of the will and voice of Taiwanese, and give up its threats and efforts to suppress Taiwan, Ting said.
Only by doing so could cross-strait relations develop in a positive direction, he added.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MOFA] solemnly protests the joint statement issued by China and Myanmar on January 18, in which Myanmar reaffirmed the so-called ‘one China principle’ and categorized Taiwan as an inalienable part of the People’s Republic of China’s territory,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
“The ministry condemns such false statements that diminish the sovereignty of the Republic of China, Taiwan,” she said.
Taiwan is not part of China, and only the Taiwanese government elected by its people can represent Taiwan in the international arena, she said.
“The results of the [Jan. 11] elections fully demonstrated the will of Taiwanese in resisting China’s ‘one country, two systems’ model,” Ou said.
“China’s rude and unreasonable promotion of the fabricated ‘one China’ principle will only hurt the feelings of Taiwanese and force democratic Taiwan to draw a line with autocratic China,” she added.
Beijing should respect the results of the presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, which gave President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) a second term in a landslide victory, Ou said.
DPP spokeswoman Lee Yen-jong (李晏榕) said that China must curb its campaign to exclude Taiwan from participation on the international stage if it wants to return to a normalization of cross-strait dialogue.
“As the joint statement has infringed upon Taiwan’s sovereignty, we disagree with it,” she said.
“Taiwan has just finished its presidential and legislative elections. All nations and media were clear the election outcome was the strongest message by Taiwanese in saying ‘no to China,’ but China continues to ignore the real voice of Taiwanese,” she said.
China should end its political machinations and stop pressuring the international community to exclude Taiwan, she added.
The KMT said that the joint statement’s stance on Taiwan was “regrettable” and that it “could not agree with it at all.”
It has always believed that “one China” refers to the Republic of China (ROC) established in 1912 … which has independent sovereignty, although its jurisdiction is currently restricted to Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, the KMT said in a written statement.
“Taiwan is definitely not a part of the PRC,” it said. “Authorities in the mainland should deal with the matter pragmatically.”
The joint statement’s stance on Taiwan is not only “unacceptable” to Taiwanese, but not helpful to cross-strait relations, it said.
The KMT is committed to safeguarding the ROC’s sovereignty, it added.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
THUGGISH BEHAVIOR: Encouraging people to report independence supporters is another intimidation tactic that threatens cross-strait peace, the state department said China setting up an online system for reporting “Taiwanese independence” advocates is an “irresponsible and reprehensible” act, a US government spokesperson said on Friday. “China’s call for private individuals to report on alleged ‘persecution or suppression’ by supposed ‘Taiwan independence henchmen and accomplices’ is irresponsible and reprehensible,” an unnamed US Department of State spokesperson told the Central News Agency in an e-mail. The move is part of Beijing’s “intimidation campaign” against Taiwan and its supporters, and is “threatening free speech around the world, destabilizing the Indo-Pacific region, and deliberately eroding the cross-strait status quo,” the spokesperson said. The Chinese Communist Party’s “threats
RSS