The foreign ministry is criticizing Beijing for its recent statement on the Taiwan Relations Act and the United States’ Six Assurances to Taiwan.
The Taiwan Relations Act is a 1979 US law that forms the basis of the unofficial US-Taiwan relationship. The Six Assurances, meanwhile, are six guidelines for US-Taiwan ties that date back to the Reagan administration. They include the principle that the US will not set a date for ending arms sales to Taiwan.
China recently said that both the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances are illegal and invalid. But Taiwan’s foreign ministry says that both are US legal documents. Ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou said Thursday that China has failed to understand this because it is not a democracy and has difficulty understanding the legality of laws passed through a democratic legislative process.
Ou says she does not believe that China’s statement on the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances deserves further discussion.