As the World Health Assembly (WHA) progresses, authorities belonging to the Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) are hyping up so-called “Taiwan joining the World Health Organisation (WHO)”, once again, under the pretext of the pandemic. Their real intention is to seek “Taiwan's independence” and expand its “international space” with the help of some western countries. Such attempts are doomed to fail.
The Taiwan region is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. On the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organisations, including the WHO, China’s position is consistent and clear—that is it must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. The UN General Assembly Resolution 2,758 explicitly recognises the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. WHA Resolution 25.1 explicitly recognises the representatives of the PRC as the only legitimate representatives of China to the WHO.
The Chinese central government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of the compatriots in the Taiwan region, and has made proper arrangement for Taiwan’s participation in global health affairs on the precondition of following the one-China principle. By April 28, the central government had given the Taiwan region 386 updates about the Covid-19 situation, and over the past year, the central government approved the participation of 47 public health experts in 44 groups from the Taiwan region in WHO’s technical activities. The channels for Taiwan to obtain information and participate in the international Covid-19 response are unimpeded.
The Taiwan question concerns China’s core interests, and is the red line that cannot be challenged. There is only one China in the world. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. These facts are recognised by the UN resolution and constitute the universal consensus of the international community. The future of Taiwan lies in China's national reunification. Any attempts to create the so-called "Taiwan's independence", "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" will lead nowhere and are doomed to fail.
I advise the DPP authorities to stop exploiting the pandemic to engage in political manipulation.
Wang Xiaojian is the press counsellor and spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India. His article is in response to the article by Baushuan Ger, Representative, Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, that THE WEEK had published.
