The 59th Munich Security Conference concluded at the weekend with Russia's war on Ukraine dominating discussions.
In his speech, Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee insisted that peace in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world is Beijing’s top priority as is respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, words which belie China’s moves to deepen ties with Russia as was seen by his subsequent visit to Moscow.
During the follow-on interview session Wang was asked if “he could reassure his audience that a military escalation over the Taiwan issue was not imminent ?”
His reply (via interpreter) was to blame “Taiwan Independence Forces” for undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait which is why, he said, “we must oppose Taiwan Independence” and “observe the one China principle”, the latter which he remarked was “a consensus of the international community”.
Wang Yi’s diatribe was an excellent live example of how the CCP seeks to distort facts and conflate terminology to create the illusion of broad agreement of their claim over Taiwan, thereby empowering them to admonish individuals, companies or countries that don’t “comply”.
The “one China principle” which Wang referred to is distinctly different from the “one China policy”. The latter is a diplomatic acknowledgement of the CCP’s position that there is only one Chinese government whereas the “one China principle” insists that Taiwan is an inalienable part of a Chinese state represented by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and will one day be “reunified” with the motherland.
Various countries around the world have adopted different positions on the meaning of “one China”. A recent paper entitled ‘The Many “One Chinas”: Multiple Approaches to Taiwan and China’ written by Chong Ja Ian at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, presents a concise up-to-date explanation of this topic. According to his analysis, only 51 countries maintain positions that are consistent with the “one China principle” rather than the 181 countries claimed by Beijing.
Ireland belongs to a group of 41 countries that “recognizes PRC as sole legitimate government of China with no explicit mention of Taiwan’s sovereignty”. That said, Ireland’s relationship with Taiwan (or lack of) is very much out of step with the European Union which recognizes the PRC as the sole legitimate government of China, but maintains relations and close cooperation with Taiwan on areas of common interest. The EU operates an Economic and Trade office in Taiwan which it deems “a reliable and valued like-minded partner” and supports the presence of 15 Member States offices in Taipei. Unfortunately, the Irish Trade and Investment Office in Taipei was closed in 2012 and the Irish Government has refused to reopen it despite numerous requests from commercial interests and politicians.
Back on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Tánaiste Micheál Martin tweeted on Saturday how he had a “constructive meeting” with Wang Yi. Chinese State media wasted no time reminding everyone that Ireland “...looks forward to strengthening exchanges at all levels with China to promote greater development of bilateral relations, Martin said, adding that Ireland will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy.”
Perhaps Ireland would be better served by building relations with “reliable and like-minded” partners, rather than focusing on appeasing those who have little regard for democracy but require us to “firmly adhere” to their conflated policies and principles.
DIVE DEEPER
- China in the world - MSC Conference, 2023 - link
- The Many "One Chinas": Multiple Approaches to Taiwan and China by Chong Ja Ian, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - link
- What is the 'One China' policy ? - BBC - link
- 4 takeaways from this year's important Munich Security Conference - NPR - link
- China's top diplomat to discuss Ukraine war during Moscow visit - Financial Times - link
- China ready to resume exchanges in various areas with Ireland: senior diplomat - China.org.cn/Xinhua - link
