This is not the first time Nauru has cut ties with Taiwan
Published January 15, 2024
One of Taiwan’s last diplomatic allies has cut ties with the island in favour of Beijing, just days after a new president was voted in in Taipei.
Nauru, a tiny Micronesian island, was just one of 12 countries that kept diplomatic ties with Taipei.
But in recent years, Beijing – which insists Taiwan is part of China – has been poaching its diplomatic allies.
Taiwan suggests this latest loss is related to the weekend’s election results, which angered China.
The election saw voters pick pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai as their next president, a man Beijing has labelled a “troublemaker” over remarks he made in the past supporting Taiwanese independence, which it sees as a red line.
“This timing is not only China’s retaliation against our democratic elections but also a direct challenge to the international order,” Taiwanese officials said after Nauru’s government announced it would “no longer recognise [Taiwan] as a separate country but rather as an inalienable part of China’s territory”.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: Taiwan’s Tsai and Lai welcome US support as Beijing fumes over election
Unofficial delegation from Washington meets self-ruled island’s president and president-elect in Taipei.
Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen shakes hands with former US Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg [CNA Pool via AFP]
Published January 15, 2024
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen and President-elect William Lai Ching-te have hailed the support of the United States for the self-ruled island in meetings with an unofficial delegation from Washington amid anger in Beijing at overseas governments’ congratulations of Taiwan on its weekend election.
The US delegation – including former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley and former Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg – arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, a day after Lai, currently the vice president, won an unprecedented third term for the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its objectives, has long criticised Lai as a so-called “separatist”. It cast the election as a choice between “peace and war”.
In the event, Lai won 40.1 percent of the vote compared with 33.5 percent for Hou Yu-ih of the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) party, his nearest rival.
During his meeting with the delegates on Monday at the DPP headquarters, Lai said freedom and democracy were “the most valuable assets for the Taiwanese people, and the sacred mountains to protect Taiwan”.
Lai added that they were “core values” shared by both Taiwan and the United States, and “the foundation for the long-term stability in Taiwan-US partnership”.
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SOURCE: wwwaljazeera.com
RELATED: Taiwan election: China says US ‘gravely wrong’ to congratulate new leader
Published January 14, 2024
China has accused the US of sending “a gravely wrong signal” to those pushing for Taiwan’s independence after Saturday’s election result.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent Taiwanese president-elect William Lai a message of congratulations following the result.
Beijing called the message a violation of Washington’s commitment to maintain only unofficial ties with Taiwan.
Mr Lai has vowed to protect Taiwan from an increasingly aggressive China.
But Beijing sees Taiwan as its territory and fiercely challenges any government that says otherwise.
Messages of congratulations for Taiwan’s new leader poured in from all over the world after the election, including from Mr Blinken – who emphasised the partnership between Taipei and Washington, which he said was rooted in democratic values.
“We look forward to working with Dr Lai and Taiwan’s leaders of all parties to advance our shared interests and values,” he said in a statement.
