The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the claim Beijing has been making about Taiwan’s status, while thanking US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for raising concerns about Taiwan during her meeting with Chinese officials.
Sherman met with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, with Wang urging Washington not to infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Taiwan is part of China, a fundamental fact that would never change, and China has the right to take any action needed to restrain Taiwanese independence, Wang said, urging Washington to abide by its commitments regarding the Taiwan issue.
Photo copied by Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Sherman raised concerns about China’s actions in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet, in cyberspace, in the Taiwan Strait, and in the East and South China seas, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.
She reiterated Washington’s concerns about China’s unwillingness to cooperate with the WHO on the investigation into COVID-19’s origins, but also affirmed the importance of cooperation in areas such as climate change, counternarcotics and nonproliferation, Price said.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the US for voicing its concerns about Taiwan.
Taiwan and the US have maintained close communications regarding Sherman’s visit to China, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday.
Beijing’s claim about Taiwan not only deviates from the facts and the understanding of the international community, but runs counter to the collective volition of Taiwanese, Ou said.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a democratic nation with independent sovereignty, with the sovereignty belonging to its 23.5 million people, she said.
Only Taiwanese have the right to determine Taiwan’s future, and only the elected government of Taiwan can represent Taiwanese on the international stage, she added.
No matter how the Chinese government distorts its claims about Taiwan, it cannot change history and established facts, while Taiwanese would only be firmer in defending their sovereignty and democracy, Ou said.
Taiwan would continue to work with like-minded partners to maintain and advance peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, she said.
A decision to describe a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement on Singapore’s Taiwan policy as “erroneous” was made because the city-state has its own “one China policy” and has not followed Beijing’s “one China principle,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said yesterday. It has been a longstanding practice for the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan, Tien said. The latest example was a statement issued by the PRC after a meeting between Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
RSS