Taiwan’s foreign ministry has made it clear that the country is not subordinate to China in response to China’s President Xi Jinping’s claim that “Taiwan is a sacred territory of China,” Taiwan News reported.
While addressing a press conference on Tuesday, MOFA Spokesperson Jeff Liu responded by emphasising that Taiwan has never been ruled by the PRC.
At a state banquet held on the eve of the anniversary on September 30, Xi claimed that Taiwan is “China’s sacred territory, and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected by blood, and blood is thicker than water.”
During his speech, Xi insisted on adherence to Beijing’s “one-China principle” and the “1992 Consensus” and opposed Taiwan independence, while also saying Beijing would achieve “reunification” with Taipei.
In response, Jeff affirmed Taiwan’s 23 million citizens uphold a free and democratic constitutional system, the Taiwan News reported.
Further, he added Taiwan’s sovereignty must not be infringed upon and that it is opposed to annexation, while the country’s future must be determined by the Taiwanese.
Liu highlighted Taipei’s calls for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, the right to its own space in the global arena, and participation in international organisations.
He also hoped Taiwanese would no longer face interference when cheering for Taiwan’s athletes at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan (MAC) has also rejected Xi Jinping’s claims about Taiwan made during the People’s Republic of China’s 75th anniversary celebrations.
On Monday, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) called on China to “face up to the reality that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not affiliated with each other, rationally face the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, and engage in pragmatic dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected government.” It called on Beijing to build goodwill to foster favourable conditions for the development of cross-strait relations.
The ‘One China principle’ is a position held by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that there exists only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legitimate government of China, and Taiwan.
The 1992 consensus refers to the outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People’s Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. They are often credited to creating a diplomatic basis between the two.