Taiwan does not need Beijing’s opinions on its partnerships with other countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday amid protests from China and Somalia over Taiwan’s decision to exchange representative offices with Somaliland.
China firmly objects to Taiwan and Somaliland establishing official agencies, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said on Monday, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party administration is acting like “a drowning person clutching at straws.”
Zhao praised Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo’s statement on Saturday denouncing “Taiwan’s violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia,” and reaffirming Mogadishu’s respect for the “one China” policy.
Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China, which has never ruled Taiwan for a single day, MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news briefing in Taipei yesterday, when asked about the remarks.
As a responsible stakeholder in the global community, Taiwan and its people have been making contributions to the world through varying means, and it is glad to develop partnerships with any other country that pursues democracy and peace, and it does not need the opinions of the Chinese government, she said.
Somaliland is important due to its location near the Gulf of Aden, and its rich fisheries, energy and mining resources, Ou said.
Taiwan and Somaliland are like-minded countries that advocate democracy and freedom, and the government would continue to promote bilateral collaboration based on the spirit of pragmatic diplomacy, she said.
Chinese Ambassador to Somalia Qin Jian (覃儉) visited Somaliland twice this year to try to convince its government not to move ahead with ties to Taiwan, the Somaliland Chronicle reported on Sunday.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but