By Caribbean News Global 
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Minister of foreign affairs Lin Chia-lung has strongly condemned the false claims made at a press conference for the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi that Taiwan affairs are China’s internal affairs and that Japan has no right to interfere in them, in a press release Tuesday.
Minister Lin underlines that “there is a high degree of consensus in the international community on maintaining peace and security across the Taiwan Strait, which is in the interests of all parties in the region. Taiwan and Japan share many key ideals and values. Together with other like-minded partners, they jointly strive to uphold regional and cross-strait stability, contributing to the preservation of a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region.”
Reiterating that the Republic of China (Taiwan) has always been an independent and sovereign country, minister Lin states:
“Taiwan’s sovereignty belongs to the people of Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China has never governed Taiwan. The international community overwhelmingly recognises that neither side is subordinate to the other. These objective facts reflect the status quo. Taiwanese society has reached a strong common understanding on these issues. No amount of rhetoric that distorts or disregards Taiwan’s sovereign status can change the reality that neither side of the Taiwan Strait is subordinate to the other.”
MOFA added that:
“Taiwan and Japan both uphold the values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. They are close friends and strong like-minded partners that enjoy long-standing public, private, and people-to-people ties. Based on these firm foundations, the two countries will continue to deepen cooperation in all spheres and promote comprehensive bilateral relations.”
