July 23, 1999
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| July 23, 1999 | atimes.com | |
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| China China hails Papua New Guinea's u-turn BEIJING - China has welcomed the new Papua New Guinea government's decision to sever two-week-old diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Port Moresby's decision to cancel the agreement to recognize Taiwan is a further setback to Taipei, which is already embroiled in an escalating row over attempts to redefine the basis of relations with China. Taiwan's diplomatic coup in luring PNG with a reported $3.5 billion in soft loans came only days before President Lee Teng-hui announced Taipei wanted cross-strait relations to proceed on a state-to-state basis. Lee's stance has infuriated Beijing, which has accused the president of seeking to declare independence for an island the communists still regard as a renegade province. Taiwan Foreign Minister Jason Hu said any action to revoke the communique signed with PNG on July 5 was the sole decision of the PNG government. He told reporters in Taipei that the Taiwanese government was not prepared to turn its back on the agreement reached with former PNG Prime Minister Bill Skate. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhang Qiyue said China appreciated the decision announced Wednesday by the new government elected last week by the PNG parliament. ''The Chinese government appreciates the wise decision made by the new government headed by Prime Minister Mekere Morauta to pursue the principles of the 1976 communique on diplomatic ties between China and PNG and to correct the erroneous actions of the former government,'' Zhang told the official Xinhua news agency. Zhang attacked Taiwan for using dollar diplomacy in an attempt to create a concept of ''two Chinas'' or ''one China, one Taiwan'' in the South Pacific. ''Such wanton and despicable action in attempting to split the motherland will meet with strong opposition from the Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, and also criticism from the people of South Pacific, including those of Papua New Guinea, and the people of the rest of the world,'' she said. Zhang said the Chinese government would pay great attention to developing friendship and cooperative relations with PNG. ''The forging of diplomatic ties has proven that it is in the long-term and fundamental interests of the people of both countries to develop bilateral cooperation in various fields,'' she said. Authorities in Taiwan said they had noted the statement by Sir Mekere but suggested they would not easily allow PNG to revoke the communique. ''We will not of our own volition sever ties with Papua New Guinea,'' Hu told reporters. Sir Mereke said PNG's ''one-China'' policy remained intact. In canceling the communique, he said that normal procedures for opening diplomatic relations with other countries were not properly followed in the case of Taiwan. (Asia Pulse) | |||||||||
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