TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday condemned China’s claim over Taiwan in a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean.
The foreign ministry said the Chinese report, which claimed Taiwan was an “inalienable part of China’s territory,” was an attempt to distort facts and mislead the international community, according to a MOFA press release.
The ministry reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country. Beijing has never governed Taiwan, which it said is a fact widely recognized by the global community, adding that “No distortion of Taiwan’s sovereign status can change this reality.”
Taiwan’s diplomatic allies are mostly concentrated in Latin America and the Caribbean, MOFA said. For years, China has lured countries into debt traps under the guise of cooperation, and the international community has long been wary of its hollow “sugar-coated poison,” the ministry said.
MOFA called on the world to condemn China’s “malicious falsehoods” and emphasized that Taiwan would not yield to intimidation or diplomatic coercion. The ministry pledged that Taiwan remains committed to freedom and democratic values and will work with its diplomatic allies and like-minded partners to safeguard peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
Several of Taiwan’s former Latin American allies have switched diplomatic recognition to China in the past decade, including El Salvador, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. However, both of the leading Honduran presidential candidates, Salvador Nasralla and Nasry Asfura, have expressed their intent to resume diplomatic ties with Taiwan if elected.
Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) recently said Taipei has maintained contact with both candidates.
Paraguay’s ties with Taiwan were put under the spotlight last year when a Chinese diplomat, Xu Wei, was expelled from the South American country after meeting with two opposition lawmakers and attempting to persuade Asuncion to sever ties with Taipei. “There is no ‘and’ option. With China and Taiwan, it’s just ‘or’: China or Taiwan,” Xu said.
