February 8, 2025
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with Sultan of Brunei Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaaddin Waddaulah on February 6. The two sides issued a joint statement on advancing the strategic cooperative partnership towards a China-Brunei community with a shared future, which erroneously claimed that Taiwan was an inalienable part of China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) strongly condemns this claim.
MOFA reiterates that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign and independent nation; that neither the ROC (Taiwan) nor the People’s Republic of China is subordinate to the other; and that the Chinese Communist Party regime has never governed Taiwan. No statement seeking to distort the sovereign status of the ROC (Taiwan) can change the internationally recognized cross-strait status quo.
MOFA emphasizes that Taiwan will not succumb to pressure or diplomatic suppression by China’s authoritarian government. Through its practice of integrated diplomacy, Taiwan will continue to deepen economic and trade cooperation and bilateral relations with Brunei and other nations so as to jointly facilitate regional prosperity.