MOFA rebuttal to false claim at COP27 by China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, Xie Zhenhua, that China made appropriate arrangements for Taiwan to participate in climate change process
November 10, 2022
Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs, falsely claimed that China had made appropriate arrangements for Taiwan to participate in the climate change process under the “one China principle.” He made the comments while addressing the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on November 8. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) strongly condemns the Chinese envoy’s blatant lies to an international conference and his malicious downgrading of the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
The success of Taiwan’s environmental policies are internationally recognized and have nothing to do with China. Taiwan’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 far exceeds China’s climate change commitments. The UNFCCC is a serious platform for the international community to collectively address the challenges of climate change. However, the Chinese Communist Party has politicized the mechanism, placing narrow-minded political considerations above global efforts to combat climate change and maliciously blocking Taiwan’s participation for years. China’s actions run counter to its responsibilities to the planet as a major carbon-emitting nation. It is deplorable that China is willing to sacrifice the urgent issue of climate change and the sovereign rights of another country to achieve its authoritarian expansionist aims.
Taiwan has sent delegations to actively participate in COP events since COP1 in Berlin in 1995. Following the principles of professionalism, pragmatism, and making contributions, this year Taiwan is also an active participant. Taiwan sincerely thanks its diplomatic allies and other friendly countries for voicing support and sending letters to call for Taiwan’s engagement in the UNFCCC. MOFA calls on the international community to take concrete actions to recognize Taiwan’s contributions to combating climate change and support Taiwan’s involvement in the UNFCCC mechanism and the negotiation process under the Paris Agreement, so that Taiwan can fully contribute to achieving global net-zero emissions.