Mainland China is sending a warning signal to Taiwan’s incoming government via a series of recent moves in the international community. That’s the word from the National Security Bureau on Monday.
Officials from eight government agencies and the National Security Bureau reported on the series of events at the legislature. Those incidents include the Gambia’s restoration of ties with China in March, and the extradition of Taiwanese fraud suspects from Kenya and Malaysia to China in April and May.
The bureau said these moves have broken the mutual agreement that China has had with Taiwan, and will shrink Taiwan’s participation in the international community. The bureau says this is China’s way of warning the incoming government, which has not acknowledged the 1992 Consensus. Under the 1992 Consensus, Mainland China and Taiwan agree that there is “One China”, while allowing for different interpretations of what “One China” means.
Another move by China that was discussed on Monday in the legislature was the World Health Assembly’s (WHA) last-minute invitation to Taiwan. The wording in the invitation differed from last year’s wording in that it referred to the “One China policy”. The National Security Bureau said it was a further sign of China’s efforts to minimize Taiwan’s international presence.
Meanwhile, the deputy minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, Shih Hui-fen, said in her report that Taiwan’s interpretation of “One China” refers to the Republic of China, which is the official name of Taiwan. She said that differs from Mainland China’s stance. She called on Chinese officials to respect the fact that Taiwan and China are ruled separately.