Chinese Ambassador to PNG Yang Xiaoguang Publishes a Byline Article “Closing Down the ‘Taipei Economic Office in PNG’ Will Further Enhance China-PNG Relations and Cooperation”

On 20 July, H.E. Yang Xiaoguang, Chinese Ambassador to PNG publishes a byline article to PNG's media The National, Post-Courier and Sunday Chronicle entitled "Closing Down the 'Taipei Economic Office in PNG' Will Further Enhance China-PNG Relations and Cooperation". The full text is as follows:

Last week, I was pleased to receive the important official notification on the closure of the "Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea" sent by PNG Foreign Minister Hon. Justin Tkatchenko on behalf of the PNG Government. The Chinese side appreciates and applauds the PNG Government's right decision and its firm adherence to the one-China principle, the solid political foundation for the development of China-PNG bilateral relations and cooperation in various fields.

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Any form of "Taiwan independence" separatist activities is strongly opposed, and all efforts made by the Chinese Government to realize reunification is supported. This is the clear and unambiguous meaning of the one-China principle.

Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times.

A large number of historical records and annals have documented the development of Taiwan by the Chinese people in earlier periods. The earliest recorded reference is in the year 230 AD. Starting from the 12th century, the imperial central governments of China all set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Taiwan. In 1684, a Taiwan prefecture administration was set up under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province. In 1885, Taiwan's status was upgraded and it became the 20th province of China.

In July 1894, Japan launched a war of aggression against China. In April 1895, the defeated Qing government was forced to cede Taiwan to Japan. After the Chinese people's victory in the war against Japanese aggression, China recovered Taiwan, resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan in October 1945.

On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, becoming the successor to the Republic of China (1912-1949), and the Central People's Government became the only legitimate government of the whole of China. As a natural result, the government of the PRC enjoys and exercises China's full sovereignty, which includes its sovereignty over Taiwan.

Taiwan's belonging to China has a sound basis in jurisprudence.

In 1943, the Cairo Declaration issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom stated that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. In 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation which was signed by China, the United States and the United Kingdom and subsequently recognized by the Soviet Union, reiterated "The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out." On August 15, 1945, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation and surrendered unconditionally. On September 2, Japan formally signed the instrument of surrender to China and the other Allied Powers, in which it promised that it would faithfully fulfill the obligations laid down in the Potsdam Proclamation. On October 25, the Chinese government declared that it had "restored sovereignty over Taiwan" and held the "Taiwan Province Surrender Ceremony of the China War Theater" in Taipei.

On October 25, 1971, the 26th Session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, restoring all rights to the People's Republic of China and recognizing the government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China to the United Nations. This resolution thoroughly resolved, in political, legal, and procedural terms, the issue of the representation of the entire China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations, unequivocally rejecting any possibility of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." In the UN documents, the island is referred to as "Taiwan, Province of China".

One-China principle represents the prevailing consensus of the international community.

As a result of the civil war in China in the late 1940s and the interference of external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have fallen into a state of protracted political confrontation. But the sovereignty and territory of China have never been divided and will never be divided, and Taiwan's status as part of China's territory has never changed and will never be allowed to change.

To date, 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of one-China principle, including the vast majority of Pacific Island Countries. Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Federal States of Micronesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue, Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Nauru have established diplomatic relations with China. It shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends.

As the world's second-largest economy and the fastest-growing major economy, China's development prospects are immensely bright, and the prospects for cooperation with China are equally promising. Adherence to the one-China principle lays a solid foundation for cooperation with China.

The PNG Government wisely saw through the "Taiwan Independence" separatist activities' malicious intentions and firmly adheres to the one-China principle.

In recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan, led by Tsai Ing-wen and Lai Ching-te, and other "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, have refused to recognize the one-China principle for their own political self-interest, and have falsely claimed that "Taiwan is already a sovereign, independent country", defined China's mainland as an "external hostilities", and obstruct and undermine cross-Straits exchanges, cooperation and integrated development. They join with external forces in trying to sow the seeds of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".

To support their agenda, the DPP authorities have taken a number of highly misleading and inappropriate actions. The "Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea" is one of the examples. The Taipei representatives in the "Office" try to engage with the officials and kind people of PNG in the name of promoting trade, development and culture, through which they deceive and mislead the local people, blatantly peddle disinformation and fallacies to advance their separatist agenda, trying to damage China-PNG relations and cooperation and ultimately harm PNG interests.

The PNG Government clearly saw through the DPP authorities' malicious intentions and firmly adhere to the one-China principle. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the China-PNG diplomatic relations. During the past five decades, the one-China principle has been firmly adhered to by successive PNG governments as the basic foreign policy, and has become the consensus of all PNG political parties.

In January 2023, PNG Government closed its Trade Office in Taiwan. This year, the PNG Government decided to close down the "Taipei Economic Office in Papua New Guinea". This is not only a gesture of friendship toward China but also demonstrates PNG's firm commitment to upholding fundamental norms of international relations such as sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-interference in internal affairs and the defense of international justice, as well as standing firmly on the right side of history. The decision will not only further consolidate the political foundation of China-PNG relations, but also set an outstanding example for Pacific island countries and even countries around the world.

At this historic moment of the 50th anniversary, we are confident that PNG's commitment to one-China principle will be even more steadfast, our two countries will be more supportive of each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the cooperation between the two countries will embrace a brighter future, which will bring much greater benefit to our two countries and peoples.