October 23, 2023
Pakistani Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China from October 16 to 20. Following their meeting, the two sides issued the Joint Press Statement between the People’s Republic of China and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The statement falsely claimed that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory” and stated that Pakistan “firmly supports the Chinese government’s efforts to achieve national reunification and opposes any form of ‘Taiwan independence.’” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) of the Republic of China (Taiwan) strongly protests and condemns the authoritarian Chinese Communist Party government for repeatedly threatening and enticing other countries to make spurious narratives aimed at undermining the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
MOFA reiterates that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent and sovereign state and that neither the R.O.C. (Taiwan) nor the PRC is subordinate to the other. These are indisputable facts, as well as the internationally recognized status quo across the Taiwan Strait. No country can or has the right to unilaterally deny the sovereignty of the Republic of China (Taiwan) through a joint statement.
MOFA calls on the Pakistani government to recognize the fundamental difference between democratic Taiwan, which safeguards its democratic system and respects human rights and the rule of law, and authoritarian China, which willfully seeks to expand, intimidates neighboring countries, and suppresses human rights. It urges the Pakistani government to stop deferring to China’s malicious attempts to disparage Taiwan’s sovereign status.