Yesterday Times of India published an interview of Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jaushieh Wu, in which the foreign minister spoke about how China made sure that Taiwan is not able to participate in technical meetings organized by World Health Organizations and continued to alienate the island nation in international community in the name of ‘One China Policy.’
“Disease knows no borders… And yet regrettably, since 2017 WHO has continually caved in to China’s unreasonable interference and discontinued its practice of issuing invitations to Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly as an observer,” said the Taiwanese foreign minister in the interview.
This has left China rattled which criticized the Indian media house for giving space to Taiwanese foreign minister while Republic of India adheres to ‘One China policy’ and the spokesperson of Chinese embassy in India released a statement regarding “Taiwan’s participation in WHO”, which was raised by Wu.
Ji Rong, the foreign ministry spokesperson said in the statement that Indian media should not provide platform to “Taiwan independence” forces. “We urge the relevant Indian media recognize the seriousness of the problem, take a correct stance on issues concerning China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, adhere to the One-China principle, and do not provide platform for “Taiwan independence” forces,” reads the statement by Chinese embassy.
“Taiwan authorities raise the question of its participation in #WHO, trying to use epidemic as an excuse to engage in seeking “independence”. One-China principle is a widely accepted consensus of the international community and should be adhered by all,” tweeted Rong from personal handle.
#Taiwan authorities raise the question of its participation in #WHO, trying to use epidemic as an excuse to engage in seeking "independence". One-China principle is a widely accepted consensus of the international community and should be adhered by all. https://t.co/pW6aRuvZ2E
— Wang Xiaojian (@ChinaSpox_India) April 27, 2020
The Taiwan government has controlled the Coronavirus pandemic brilliantly despite geographical proximity with China. Out of the 2.3 crore population, the island country has only 429 cases so far and majority of the patients have already recovered, leaving 6 dead.
The island country won international acclaim for containing Covid-19, and the countries around the world are enthusiastic about enhancing ties with Taiwan since the outbreak of Coronavirus.
Taiwan has supplied millions of masks and other personal protective equipments to needy countries around the world including United States and those of Western Europe. The country once again emerged on the international map after Coronavirus outbreak after shadowed by mighty People’s Republic of China for decades.
The global media and the governments around the world are enthusiastic about talking to Taiwanese government officials and seeking their advice in containing the pandemic.
The interview taken by Times of India received very tough reaction from Chinese embassy and this shows the frustration of Chinese government over rise in stature of Taiwan. “The One-China principle is a widely accepted universal consensus of the international community including the Government of the Republic of India. The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations restricted to only sovereign states. Taiwan has no right to join WHO as a part of China,” said the Chinese embassy in the statement.
China asserts that it has the sole right over Taiwan and claims that Taiwan is a part of China. In reality, Taiwan has is an independent nation which has been running its own governments since 1949. China is desperately trying to bring back Taiwan to its fold and won’t hesitate from apply force if needed. While the WHO considers Taiwan to be a part of China, the former in the wake of the Wuhan virus is now rapidly gaining legitimacy much to the XI Jinping’s displeasure.
Recently, Taiwan donated 5.6 million masks to the European Union to help fight the Wuhan virus. The President of European Commission which is the European Union’s executive arm, Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to praise and thank Taiwan.
Moreover, US President Donald Trump recently signed the TAIPEI Act to support Taiwan’s international relations. More importantly, the bill had received bipartisan support as it had been unanimously passed by both the house of Representatives and the Senate. This came at a time when the world is blaming China for causing the coronavirus pandemic.
The TAIPEI act states that the US should strive to support Taiwan in strengthening the country’s alliances across the world in the face of Chinese pressure as countries like Burkina Faso, Gambia, Panama and the Dominican Republic have formally severed diplomatic ties in favour of diplomatic relations with China.
It seems that the world is now finally recognising Taiwan’s work and its importance in the wake of the Wuhan virus which bodes well for Taiwan and threatens to dump the CCP’s “One China Policy” for good.