On May 18, the General Committee and the Plenary Session of the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) respectively decided to reject the so-called proposal of "inviting Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer" submitted by certain countries. This has been the 10th year in a row that the WHA has rejected the so-called proposal concerning Taiwan.
China's position on the Taiwan region's participation in the activities of international organizations, including WHO, is consistent and clear. That is, it must be handled in line with the one-China principle, which is also a fundamental principle as demonstrated by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758. However, for quite some time, the (DPP) authorities in Taiwan and certain countries have been blatantly turning back the wheel of history by deliberately distorting and challenging UNGA Resolution 2758 to challenge the one-China principle. They are essentially trying to challenge not only China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also international justice and prevailing consensus as well as the post-WWII international order.
China's position has wide understood from the overwhelming majority of countries in the international community, including Liberia. They have reaffirmed that they uphold UNGA Resolution 2758, firmly support the one-China principle, and oppose Taiwan's participation in the WHA. They expressed their support for China's position through various means, such as co-signing the letter from the Chinese side to the WHO Director-General. It shows that commitment to the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends, and what the greater national interests entail. The international community's commitment to the one-China principle is not to be challenged or shaken. No matter what the DPP authorities say or do, it does not change the fact that the two sides of the Strait belong to one and the same China and Taiwan is part of China, nor can it stop the trend towards China's ultimate and inevitable reunification. "Taiwan independence" leads nowhere and provocations for that are doomed to failure.
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This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and African countries. Over the past 70 years, 53 African countries have established and developed diplomatic ties with China on the basis of the one-China principle and have firmly supported UNGA Resolution 2758. In the Beijing Declaration on Jointly Building an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era, adopted at the 2024 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC), the African side reaffirmed its steadfast commitment to the one-China principle, reiterated that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and they firmly support all efforts by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. Both China and Africa have shown mutual understanding and support on issues related to each other's core interests and major concerns, jointly writing a new chapter of an All-Weather China-Africa Community with a Shared Future for the New Era.
Since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Liberia in 2003, the one-China principle has been consistently upheld in Liberia. When serving as Vice President and President of the Senate, President Boakai promoted the passage of legislation by the Liberian Legislature that enshrined adherence to UNGA Resolution 2758 and support for the one-China principle into Liberia's domestic law, thereby consolidating the political foundation for the development of bilateral diplomatic relations.
In recent years, Liberian leaders have on multiple occasions publicly reaffirmed their firm commitment to the one-China principle and have taken concrete actions to uphold it. During her official visit to China, on May 19, Foreign Minister Nyanti reiterated during talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that Liberia would firmly adhere to the one-China principle. The Chinese side highly appreciates this and looks forward to continuously deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries on the basis of the one-China principle and achieving new outcomes in bilateral cooperation.
Taiwan belongs to all the Chinese people, including the 23 million Taiwan compatriots. Moves to separate Taiwan from China represent the serious crime of secession and undermine the common interests of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation. They will lead nowhere. China now has better conditions, more confidence, and greater capabilities to complete the historic mission of national reunification, so that both sides of the Straits can enjoy a better life. The wheel of history rolls on towards national reunification, and it will not be stopped by any individual or any force.
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At present, China is embarking on the journey of implementing its Fifteenth Five-Year Plan, while Liberia is comprehensively advancing its ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development. China stands ready to strengthen strategic alignment with Liberia, expand practical cooperation, and remain a true friend and reliable partner in each other's respective modernization journeys, so as to jointly advance the China-Liberia strategic partnership and promote the solidarity, development, and progress of the Global South.
