Taiwan Rejects China-Laos Joint Statement on One-China Principle as 'Contrary to Facts'

(Central News Agency, reporter Yang Yaoru, Taipei, June 7) After China and Laos issued a joint statement reaffirming the One-China principle, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today issued a stern rebuttal, calling it 'contrary to facts.' MOFA reiterated that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China. It also warned the Lao government that condoning the expansion of authoritarianism would deeply entangle its people in a vicious cycle of Chinese political and economic coercion.

In a press release issued this afternoon, MOFA stated that the joint statement titled 'Joint Statement between the People's Republic of China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic on Building a China-Laos Community with a Shared Future for the New Era,' released by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 6, once again contained fallacious arguments that belittle Taiwan's sovereignty, such as 'supporting all efforts by China to achieve national reunification.' MOFA asserted that this not only severely deviates from the facts but also encourages China's military aggression against Taiwan and harms regional peace and stability. MOFA expressed its strongest refutation and condemnation.

MOFA strongly condemned China for repeatedly using interactions with its client states to issue joint statements that smear Taiwan's sovereign status and distort facts. Regarding Laos, which has ignored facts and unilaterally cooperated with China to suppress Taiwan despite multiple corrections and urgings from Taiwan, MOFA issued a serious warning to the Lao government. It stated that tolerating the expansion of authoritarianism will cause the Lao people to be deeply trapped in a vicious cycle of Chinese political and economic coercion.

MOFA reiterated that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent state and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China. This is an undeniable objective fact and the status quo of the Taiwan Strait.

MOFA once again called on the international community to seriously confront China's attempts to rationalize its authoritarian expansion and its long-term actions that damage the sovereign decisions of other nations. Taiwan expressed its willingness to cooperate with all countries that support freedom, democracy, and human rights to jointly curb the expansion of authoritarianism, firmly safeguard peace and security in the Taiwan Strait, and maintain freedom and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (Editor: Lin Kelun) 1150607