(TibetanReview.net, Mar04’24) – China wants the media in India to follow its so-called One China policy after the television channel NewsX aired on Feb 29 an interview with Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu. The Communist Party of China (CPC)-state has never ruled Taiwan but considers the latter a renegade province and vowed to “reunify” it, including by armed invasion if necessary.
In a statement issued Mar 1, the Chinese embassy in India claimed the interview provided “a platform for advocating Taiwan independence and disseminating false information,” which it deemed a serious violation of the One-China principle.
China’s One-China principle asserts that there is only one China in this world and Taiwan is part of it, and the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is its sole legal representative. It requires all counties having diplomatic relations with it to abide by this principle.
However, India has for years refrained from including the One-China nomenclature in joint statements after meetings with leaders of China due to the latter’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh and pro-Pakistan position it has adopted on the Kashmir issue. China has also repeatedly angered India by preventing the UN from sanctioning terrorists who had attacked it and were being protected by Pakistan.
The Chinese embassy statement stressed that the One-China principle is widely accepted and forms the political foundation for diplomatic ties between China and countries worldwide.
It urged the “Indian media to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Responding strongly to the Chinese statement, the Taiwan Foreign Office has said, “Neither India nor Taiwan is part of the PRC and we’re not its puppets.
“We’re both democracies with free and vibrant presses that can’t be dictated to. Beijing should worry about its own economic slump, not bullying its neighbours,” the statement has added.
India-Taiwan relations, while unofficial, have gradually strengthened in recent years, driven by economic, strategic, and cultural factors. Despite not having formal diplomatic ties, the two sides have sought to enhance bilateral trade and investment through various mechanisms. Taiwan’s technological expertise in areas like chipmaking aligns with India’s goals of promoting innovation and digitalisation, noted news18.com Mar 3.
The report said that less than a month ago, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India – Taiwan’s de facto embassy in India – and the India Taipei Association (ITA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on labour cooperation.