Taiwan condemns China’s “misinformation” war
Taiwan: In response to a “erroneous” statement by China’s foreign ministry, a senior Taiwanese official said Wednesday that Singapore has a “one-China policy” and has not adhered to China’s “one-China principle,” according to local media.
Deputy Foreign Minister Tien Chung-kwang was quoted in a Focus Taiwan story as stating that “it has been a longstanding practice for China to speak on other countries’ behalf concerning Taiwan.”
Following Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on November 15 during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said on November 16 that China had made a “unmistakable false” statement about Taiwan.
Following the meeting, the Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement declaring that “Singapore firmly abides by the one-China principle, opposes any form of ‘Taiwan independence,’ and fully understands the Chinese government’s position on the Taiwan question.” Nevertheless, during the same conference, Singapore’s foreign ministry released a statement declaring that “Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘One China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence.”
Concentrate Taiwan quoted Minister Tien as stating that the discrepancy between the two declarations and Beijing’s use of the word “principle” for the one-China “policy” was another evidence of China’s “disinformation warfare.”
The world community has been asked by Taiwan’s foreign ministry to condemn “China’s unilateral and deliberate bullying practices that undermine regional peace and stability.”
China’s use of APEC and other international platforms to “spread falsehoods that belittle Taiwan’s sovereignty” and sway global public opinion was also denounced by the Taiwanese MOFA.
Since September 2020, China has increased military operations in the Taiwan area, using aircraft and naval ships as well as grey zone strategies to meet its security goals.
