Lai Ching-te stubbornly adheres to the separatist stance of “Taiwan independence”. China firmly opposes and severely condemns Lai’s propagation of “Taiwan independence” fallacies in a so-called “exclusive interview” at the time of his “stopovers” in the US.

Lai claimed that “Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country”, “it is not necessary to declare independence”. These are sheer lies and blatant provocations. There is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is the core content of the One-China principle as well as the universal consensus shared by the international community. The UNGA Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971 has restored the legal seat of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations and confirmed the One-China policy of the United Nations. As of today, 182 countries in the world, including the US, have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the One-China principle. The US government has repeated time and again that it will not support “Taiwan independence”.Taiwan’s status as part of China’s territory has never changed and must not change.

Lai claimed that he hopes democratic countries will support Taiwan for its participation in international affairs so that Taiwan can better contribute to the international community. This is a familiar gimmick of using “seeking participation in international affairs” as a pretext to engage in political manipulation. China’s position on the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, is consistent and clear. It must be handled in accordance with the One-China principle. This is a fundamental principle affirmed in UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1. During this year’s WHA, nearly 140 countries publicly supported China’s position, and the proposals about Taiwan were once again rejected. This once again shows that the one-China principle has overwhelming international support and represents the trend of the world.

“Taiwan independence” is a dead end. We will work with the international community to firmly uphold the One-China principle, firmly safeguard our sovereignty and territorial integrity and firmly oppose the “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and foreign connivance and support for such activities. Any attempts to collude with external forces to provoke “Taiwan independence” is doomed to fail.