May 19, 2023
The presidents of five Central Asian nations—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan—visited China between May 16 and 19. They participated in the China-Central Asia Summit and met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. After the meetings, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan issued separate joint statements with China, claiming that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly protests the actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) government, which has repeatedly used meetings with leaders of other countries to publicly undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty. MOFA also firmly denounces the Central Asian nations for indulging China’s false narrative and cooperating with statements that harm Taiwan’s sovereignty.
MOFA reiterates that neither the Republic of China (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other. The CCP regime has never had jurisdiction over Taiwan. No country has the right to deny the reality of Taiwan’s existence and it is impossible for so-called joint statements to change this fact. MOFA urges Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries not to follow China’s narrative, which ignores reality and shows aggressive intent. It also calls on these countries to take note of recent blatant statements by a Chinese ambassador who questioned the sovereignty of former Soviet republics following their independence. His outrageous comments elicited serious concern worldwide. It is obvious that China is a habitual offender that has long trampled on other nations’ sovereignty. Its behavior should not be tolerated by the rules-based international community.
Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs only to the Taiwanese people and only the Taiwanese people can determine Taiwan’s future. Global peace, stability, and prosperity should be jointly safeguarded by countries around the world. Taiwan will steadfastly and firmly defend the values of freedom and democracy. Taiwan is willing to enhance cooperation with democratic partners to jointly deter authoritarian expansion, preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.