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Vice President Lai pledges to uphold cross-strait status quo

ROC Central News Agency

05/23/2023 05:45 PM

Taipei, May 23 (CNA) Vice President and presidential hopeful Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Tuesday there were "no winners in war," as he underlined his continued support for the Taiwan Strait "status quo."

At a meeting with visiting Saint Lucia Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire at the Presidential Office, Lai said he would strive to "uphold the peaceful and stable status quo of the Taiwan Strait in the future."

"Peace is precious, and there are no winners in war," said Lai, who has been selected as the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate.

"Peace and stability are in the interest of all nations in the world," he added.

Lai also called on democracies in the world "not to be restricted by the 'One China' principle," without elaborating.

The "One China" principle, adhered to by the People's Republic of China (PRC) and some of its closest allies, supports the notion that "there is only one China in the world" of which Taiwan is a sovereign part.

The U.S.' "One China" policy, meanwhile, is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Six Assurances, as well as the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, which state that Washington "acknowledges" Beijing's position.

Lai went on to say that as a member of the international community, Taiwan should not be excluded from participating in global affairs, a clear reference to Taiwan's exclusion from the ongoing World Health Assembly (WHA), the World Health Organization's (WHO) annual decision-making forum.

Echoing Lai's comments, Hilaire said Taiwan "must be accepted as a full partner in all international institutions," something that would "enrich global civilization" and "strengthen the world."

Saint Lucia will continue championing Taiwan as it endeavors to take part in international organizations, said Hilaire, who arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a five-day visit.

Taiwan was not invited to this year's WHA, currently being held in Geneva, Switzerland, despite support from the U.S. and its democratic allies.

Taiwan's foreign ministry has blamed Beijing for "outrageous and unreasonable" attempts to block Taiwan's participation in the WHA, saying in a press release on Monday that the country had been excluded from the assembly "because of political pressure from China."

The Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, left the WHO in 1972 following a decision by the United Nations to recognize the PRC as the only "legitimate representative of China."

Taiwan was allowed to attend the WHA as an observer under the designation "Chinese Taipei" from 2009-2016, when cross-Taiwan Strait relations were warmer under the then Kuomintang government.

However, the country has been blocked from attending the WHA since 2017, a year after the independence-leaning DPP took power.

(By Teng Pei-ju)

Enditem/ASG