Taiwan has pushed back sharply against remarks Chinese President Xi Jinping made to US President Donald Trump about the island’s future, calling them a “distortion of the facts” and insisting that only Taiwan’s people can decide what comes next.
Beijing claims democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory — a stance rejected by President Lai Ching-te and his administration.
Speaking to Mr Trump in Washington yesterday, Mr Xi said China’s position on protecting national “reunification” and territorial integrity was unequivocal, and he expressed hope the United States would maintain what he called the “correct position” of opposing Taiwan independence.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said Mr Xi’s message followed “the consistent Chinese approach of distorting facts and unilaterally conveying its position and claims”, according to a statement.
“Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to all the people of Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party has no right to represent the Taiwanese people, and Taiwan’s future can only be determined by the Taiwanese people through democratic means,” the ministry added.
The United States remains Taiwan’s most important international supporter and its main source of arms, even though Washington does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
After meeting Xi in Beijing, Mr Trump said in May that he was putting a planned new arms sale to Taiwan on hold, calling it a “good bargaining chip”.
In its response, Taiwan’s foreign ministry argued that China was the “true disruptor” of peace and stability in the region, citing what it described as Beijing’s military threats around the island and in the east and south China Seas.
Taiwan will keep working closely with the United States and other like-minded partners to jointly uphold peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the ministry said.
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