TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (Oct. 18) claimed that Taiwan is "an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to issue a statement refuting these "ridiculous and false remarks."
During a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on Wednesday, Putin claimed, "There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory," according to China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He said that Moscow is strongly committed to the "one China" policy and backs Beijing in "safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
On Thursday morning (Oct. 19), MOFA issued a press release that solemnly refuted his comments and expressed severe condemnation of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP's) authoritarian government for "repeatedly belittling Taiwan's sovereignty" and Russia’s compliance with this position.
The ministry reiterated that Taiwan and China are not affiliated with each other, and "the Chinese Communist regime has never had jurisdiction over Taiwan." It pointed out that Taiwan is a modern democratic country that "actively defends the democratic system" and respects human rights and the rule of law, while the CCP's authoritarian government has been continuously "persecuting human rights, aggressively expanding, and bullying neighboring countries for many years."
MOFA emphasized that "any distortion of Taiwan’s sovereign status by the Chinese Communist regime" will not change the internationally recognized cross-strait status quo. It reiterated that only the government elected by the people of Taiwan through democratic elections can represent Taiwan.
The ministry said that the authoritarian government of the CCP should "recognize and respect this status quo and fact." It warned that the convergence of authoritarian expansionism between China and Russia threatens basic values such as democracy, freedom, rule of law, and human rights, and "severely endangers international security, peace, stability, and the rules-based international order."
The ministry asserted that Taiwan is the "frontline guardian of democracy" and vowed that the "people and government of Taiwan will unite to defend against Communist China's civil and military attacks on Taiwan." It also pledged to strengthen coordination and cooperation with democratic countries to counter authoritarian expansion to safeguard peace and security across the Taiwan Strait and uphold freedom and openness in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as global stability and prosperity.