《TAIPEI TIMES》 MOFA thanks Pompeo for support

‘A DESIRE TO INVADE’: Beijing’s hegemonic mentality is a source of tension in the Asia-Pacific region and threatens international order, the Mainland Affairs Council said

By Chung Li-hua / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs （MOFA） yesterday expressed gratitude to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his support of Taiwan.

“Based on the firm and friendly bilateral relations, Taiwan will continue its cooperation with the US in terms of regional and global affairs,” the ministry said. “Taiwan will actively seek to take part in international activities to contribute to the world.”

Taiwan will do its share to safeguard its own security and will work closely with the US and other like-minded countries to protect regional peace and stability, it added.

The ministry made the statement after Pompeo at the second US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in Washington on Friday reaffirmed “strong ties with a democratic Taiwan.”

“I reiterated the US policy has not changed and that we are concerned about China’s increasing efforts to coerce others, constraining Taiwan’s international space,” Pompeo said.

In response to Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe’s （魏鳳和） remark at the meeting that Beijing would defend its claim over Taiwan “at any cost,” as Washington did during the US Civil War, if Taiwan were to “secede” from China, the Mainland Affairs Council yesterday said that Taiwanese would not accept China’s increasing political and military pressure to terrorize the nation, nor its threat to annex Taiwan by force.

China has become the greatest threat to peace and security in the Taiwan Strait and the developments of cross-strait ties, the council said, adding that the international community should recognize the hegemonic mindset ingrained in the Chinese Communist Party （CCP）.

Taiwan is a sovereign nation and has never been a part of China, the council said.

The CCP made a botched analogy that departed from historical facts, as the relationship between Taiwan and China is different from that between the Confederacy and the Union, the council said.

The council also expressed its gratitude for the support that the US and other nations have given Taiwan.

It drew the international community’s attention to China’s history of human rights violations and its hegemonic mindset “fueled by a perpetual desire to expand and invade,” which the council said is a source of tension in the Asia-Pacific region and could negatively affect international order.

“Taiwan, as a responsible stakeholder in upholding peace in the Taiwan Strait and in maintaining regional security, seeks to leverage its cooperation with the US and other like-minded countries, while continuing to defend its sovereignty, dignity, freedom and democratic values,” the council said.

Taiwan would also keep a close eye on China’s human rights violations and its efforts to gain hegemony over other nations, it said.

China should engage in dialogue with Taiwan instead of browbeating it if the two sides are to overcome their differences, it added.

Additional reporting by Lu Yi-hsuan and CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES