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Taiwan thanks G7 for stressing importance of cross-strait peace

ROC Central News Agency

05/20/2023 09:51 PM

Taipei, May 20 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) expressed its gratitude on Saturday to the Group of Seven (G7) nations for their joint communiqué that reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

"MOFA welcomes and sincerely appreciates the concrete actions taken by G7 member countries for three consecutive years, demonstrating their concern for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," MOFA said in a statement after the G7 leaders issued a joint communiqué Saturday.

In the communiqué, the G7 leaders, who met in Hiroshima this week, expressed concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas and said they "strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion."

"We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as indispensable to security and prosperity in the international community," according to the communiqué.

It said the G7 members had not changed their basic positions on Taiwan, including stated one-China policies, adding that "we call for a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues."

In response, MOFA said China has frequently used military and economic means to intimidate Taiwan and neighboring countries in recent years, posing severe threats and challenges to the security of the Taiwan Strait, the Indo-Pacific region and global security.

This has raised grave concerns within the international community, including at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in April this year and at the U.S.-Japan Summit and the Japan-U.K. Summit on May 18, which all reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, MOFA said.

The concerns highlight the fact that Taiwan's security has become a global concern and the international community has reached a consensus on countering the authoritarian expansion led by China and Russia, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, on May 18, when asked about China's response to the prospect of "cross-strait peace and stability" appearing in the G7 joint communiqué, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) accused countries such as the United States and Japan of "colluding with and echoing Taiwan independence forces" and bearing responsibility for the tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

He claimed that merely talking about maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait without opposing Taiwan independence would only embolden those forces and cause greater damage to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

(By Matt Yu and Christie Chen)

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