It is regrettable that the Chinese government does not understand normal diplomatic behaviors between democratic countries and thus frequently takes provocative actions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement yesterday.
China on Sunday expressed its opposition to a telephone call between President William Lai (賴清德) and US Representative Nancy Pelosi during Lai’s stopover in Hawaii, as well as its opposition to US arms sales to Taiwan.
Before Lai departed on his seven-day tour to Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, the US government on Friday announced a US$387 million arms sale to Taiwan.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
“It is regrettable that the Chinese government does not understand normal diplomatic behaviors between democratic countries, thus frequently takes provocative actions,” the ministry said yesterday, as it urged Beijing to “be rational and have self-constraint.”
Pelosi in the phone call told Lai the US Congress shows bipartisan support for Taiwan, the ministry said, adding that she also mentioned her support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
“The Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent sovereign state, which has the right and free choice to interact and develop relationships with countries around the world,” it said. “We refuse to be interfered or suppressed by any country for any reason, nor set self-limitations.”
The ministry also thanked the US government for firmly fulfilling its commitment to Taiwan’s security based on the Taiwan Relations Act and the “six assurances.”
The 1979 act stipulates that commercial, cultural and other unofficial relations be sustained between Taiwan and the US after Washington switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing.
It also requires the US “to provide Taiwan with arms of a defensive character.”
The “six assurances,” which were issued by then-US president Ronald Reagan in 1982, include a pledge that the US would not to set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan.
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