The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned the Chinese delegation at the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) for claiming that Beijing’s “one China” principle is recognized by the majority of the international community.
Chinese Ambassador to the US and Permanent Observer to the OAS Xie Feng (謝鋒) on Friday said at the assembly in Paraguay that 183 nations have built diplomatic relations with China based on the “one China” principle and that “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China.”
In Taipei, the ministry reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign, independent nation called the Republic of China and does not belong to the People’s Republic of China.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The People’s Republic of China has never governed Taiwan, a modern country that seeks to safeguard its democratic system, while respecting human rights and the rule of law, the ministry said in a news release.
That is the situation commonly recognized by the international community, it said.
No distorted narrative that denies Taiwan’s sovereignty can change its political status, the ministry said, adding that China’s false remarks could threaten cross-strait stability and disrupt the international order.
The ministry urged the international community not to endorse China’s “malicious comments” seeking to deprecate Taiwan’s sovereignty status.
Taiwan is on the front line of defending democracy, facing propaganda and military threats from China, it said, adding that Taiwan would reinforce its collaboration with other democracies to deter China’s authoritarian expansion, and defend cross-strait peace and prosperity.
In other news, the ministry on Friday said that a visa-waiver program for Chinese tourists announced by the Laotian government includes an element that gives the false impression that Taiwan is a part of China.
A document issued on Wednesday by the Laotian government showed that Chinese visitors to the county may visit visa-free for up to 15 days as part of a group tour, provided their itinerary has been approved by the Laotian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
The policy, valid from tomorrow to Dec. 31, also extends to tourists from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, the document says.
The inclusion of Taiwan under the policy to boost tourism came amid pressure from Beijing and was aimed at giving the false impression that Taiwan is part of China, MOFA said.
Taiwan and China are not subordinate to each other, and Laos should not collaborate with China in undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty and international standing, the ministry said, adding that it has conveyed its stance to the Laotian government through Taiwan’s representative office in Vietnam.
Despite the policy, Taiwanese tourists visiting Laos still need on-arrival visas, as stated in a clause in the document.
There has been no change to regulations for Taiwanese wanting to visit Laos to obtain an electronic or on-arrival visa, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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