【Epoch Times, January 17, 2025】In response to Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu attending the inauguration ceremony of Palau’s President as a special envoy of the President, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, “Taiwan does not have a president.” The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly condemned this statement and rebutted China for commenting without invitation as a third party, taking the opportunity to repeat old tunes and spread misinformation.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu of Taiwan attended the inauguration ceremony of Palau’s President on the 16th as a special envoy of the President. In a Facebook post, he mentioned that the Palauan government congratulated President Tsai Ing-wen in their inauguration speech, showing that only Australia, Japan, and the United States received such treatment besides Taiwan, highlighting the importance of the friendship between Taiwan and Palau. “President Surangel Whipps Jr. of Palau expressed gratitude in his inaugural speech for the direct flights operated by China Airlines four times a week, making transportation to Palau more convenient. He also thanked Taiwan, the United States, Japan, and Australia for their long-term assistance to Palau, emphasizing unity through a traditional Palauan symbol, the swordfish tail, stating that unity will make us stronger.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan issued a press release stating the following in response to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ comments on Minister Joseph Wu’s visit to Palau as a special envoy of the President for the inauguration of the new President and Vice President: “On the 16th, our ally the Republic of Palau held the inauguration ceremony for the President and Vice President. Taiwan has been sincerely invited multiple times by the new Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. to send Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as a special envoy representing the government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to congratulate them, demonstrating the strong friendship between Taiwan and Palau.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan expressed its strong dissatisfaction with China commenting without invitation as a third party and taking the opportunity to repeat the old rhetoric, spreading the fallacy of the “One China Principle,” and spreading false information about Taiwan’s allies hoping to “establish relations with China.” China’s attempt to manipulate information through cognitive warfare to disrupt and divide Taiwan’s friendships with its allies was strongly condemned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Taiwan, the Republic of China, is a democratic and free country. It is an internationally recognized fact that democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China are not subordinate to each other and that this is the current situation in the Taiwan Strait. The People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, and Taiwan is not part of the People’s Republic of China. Only the democratically elected government of Taiwan has the right to represent the people of Taiwan in international forums such as the United Nations; China has no right to intervene,” reiterated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan urged China to stop its ongoing despicable behavior of distorting facts and ignoring history. Taiwan will continue to defend its values of freedom and democracy and strengthen cooperation with all democratic partners, including allies of the Republic of China, to collectively counter the expansion of authoritarianism, firmly uphold peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and safeguard freedom, openness, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.