(TibetanReview.net, Jan14’20) – Officials from more than 60 countries had greeted Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen by phone call and email on her re-election on Jan 11, reported taiwannews.com.tw Jan 13, citing the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jan 12.
The suggestion that far more countries than those with which Taiwan has formal diplomatic relations had offered congratulations is sure to bristle China which considers such a gesture a violation of its so-called ‘One China’ policy.
Taiwan held its 15th presidential election and 10th legislative elections on Jan 11. Final results showed that Tsai and her running mate William Lai won the presidential race with a record-breaking 8,170,186 votes, or 57.13 percent, while their Kuomintang (KMT) opponents Han Kuo-yu and Simon Chang received almost 3 million fewer votes, the report noted.
Asked about the greetings sent by senior officials from countries such as the US, the UK, and Japan, China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Geng Shuang has remarked that the “Taiwan region” was a “sub-national affair in China”.
And he has said China “firmly oppose those countries’ violation of the ‘one-China’ principle” and had “lodged solemn representations”.
In a Chinese language op-ed, China’s official Xinhua news agency blamed the election results on “external dark forces”.
