Ambassador José María Liu
Representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Spain
If the years 2020 and 2021 were marked by the covid-19 pandemic, which the world was determined to confront together, so far 2022 has been marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a war that has had terrible consequences first in the invaded country and then in the rest of Europe and the rest of the world.
A world that is meanwhile watching with a sidelong glance the signals coming from China, another hegemonic power that also poses a threat to world peace and which, with its continued hostility towards Taiwan, threatens to provoke a similar conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Experience tells us that both conflicts, one to end and the other to prevent, require the attention and joint action of the entire international community.
Since I have been the representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Spain, we have always received the backing and support of the Spanish legislature for the improvement of relations between the two countries. This relationship reached its culminating point with the recent approval, in the Congress of Deputies, of a Non-Law Proposition on the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait in which the Parliament “underlines its opposition to any unilateral action that undermines the status quo in the Taiwan Strait”. The aforementioned Proposition, approved in the Foreign Affairs Committee on 6 October, adds that the Congress of Deputies “reiterates that the relationship between China and Taiwan should be developed constructively through dialogue, without coercion and on the basis of the will of the people”. This comes after China has intensified its threats towards Taiwan in recent months, initiating military exercises with live fire around Taiwan that it is trying to make habitual, thereby establishing a “new normal” that represents a unilateral change to the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and a challenge to the international order.
In the face of the arguments used by China, which misleadingly resorts time and again to UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971 to try to justify that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of China”, we in Taiwan reiterate that this resolution at no time mentions Taiwan, nor does it attribute to the People’s Republic of China any right to represent Taiwan in the United Nations system, nor does it say that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign, independent and democratic country. Therefore, only the government directly and democratically elected by the people can represent the 23.5 million Taiwanese, whose future can only be decided by themselves. Taiwan’s position on this issue has always been that we will not bow to pressure, neither will we act rashly when we have support. The consensus of the Taiwanese people is that we Taiwanese cannot compromise on territorial sovereignty, democracy and independence, and that military conflict is not an option for both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
In her National Day message on 10 October, President Tsai Ing-wen of the Republic of China (Taiwan) insisted that Taiwan is willing to work with Beijing, under the principles of rationality, equality and mutual respect, to find a mutually acceptable solution that maintains peace and security in the Taiwan Strait. This is the joint responsibility of both sides of the Taiwan Strait and must also be a concern of the whole democratic world.
We are convinced that the catastrophe of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be far greater than that caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It is enough to consider that Taiwan has become the main global supplier and the key part of the world’s chip supply chain. Our aim is to work on self-defence and ensure our national security. We will do everything we can to defend ourselves, but we know that in wars there are no winners, only losers.
With the recent approval of this Proposition of Law by the Spanish Congress, both my country and my people have felt the support of a friendly Spanish people, with whom we fully share values such as peace, freedom, democracy and respect for human rights, and whom we sincerely thank for such a noble gesture. This declaration is a valuable milestone in the relations between Spain and Taiwan, and underlines the intention of our Spanish friends to contribute to stopping the hegemonic powers in their tracks, as well as the determined joint commitment of Spain and Taiwan to peace and security not only in the Taiwan Strait, but throughout the world.
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