Taiwan condemns China for denying existence of ROC president

Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday condemned the Chinese authorities for claiming there is no such thing as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan's official name), after President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) planned visit to Eswatini was canceled earlier this week.

Lai was scheduled to depart on Wednesday for Eswatini, Taiwan's sole diplomatic ally in Africa, but the trip was canceled after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar abruptly rescinded overflight permissions for his chartered plane.

Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安), who announced the cancellation on Tuesday, said it resulted from "strong pressure" exerted by China, including the "economic coercion" of the three African countries.

At a regular news briefing in Taipei on Thursday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) condemned remarks by China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) and foreign ministry on Wednesday regarding the status of the Republic of China (ROC) and its president, following the cancellation of Lai's trip.

Liang said those remarks "in effect" reflect Beijing's position that "it does not recognize the existence of the ROC" and that "the ROC has no president."

The comments drew condemnation from MAC because they align with Beijing's "one China principle," under which Taiwan is regarded as part of the People's Republic of China and the ROC is not recognized as a sovereign state.

Taiwan rejects that position and maintains that the ROC is a sovereign state.

The TAO remarks Liang referred to were made by agency spokesperson Zhang Han (張晗), who said at a regular news briefing in Beijing on Wednesday that "there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China. There is no such thing as a 'president.'"

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the same day that "the so-called 'president of the ROC' has long ceased to exist in the world."