China, Nauru Photo: VCG

Chinese Foreign Ministry said China appreciates and welcomes Nauru's decision of severing "diplomatic ties" with the Taiwan region, which was announced on Monday on the heels of the regional election in the island, reflecting that the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus among the international community. The decision is also considered a slap in the face to some ill-intentioned moves made by very few US-led Western countries aiming to turn the Taiwan question into an international topic and to continue playing "the Taiwan card" in containing the Chinese mainland, experts said.

They also believed that Nauru has made such a correct choice based on its own national interest, and with the rise of the influence of China and its international status, most countries have made a clear judgment about what diplomatic choice they will make regarding the Taiwan question. Also, the secessionist moves of the DPP authorities have speeded up some countries' resolve to sever diplomatic relations with the island, experts said, warning that if the DPP authorities continue advocating "Taiwan independence" and provoking confrontation in the future, Nauru's cutting "diplomatic ties" will also serve as a starting point.

Shortly after the Nauru government said it will cut "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan region, noting that it's "in the best interests" of the Pacific island nation and its people to seek resumption of diplomatic relations with China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said China stands ready to work with Nauru to open new chapters of bilateral relations on the basis of one-China principle.

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It's what has been affirmed in Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly and is a prevailing consensus among the international community, the ministry said.

China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries on the basis of the one-China principle. The Nauru government's decision of reestablishing diplomatic ties with China once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends, it noted.

The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office also expressed its appreciation on Monday on Nauru's decision, saying that it made the right decision in response to the general trend. Facts have repeatedly proved that adhering to the one-China principle is the aspiration of the people and the prevailing trend, said Chen Binhua, spokesperson of the office.

Correct choice

The decision made by the Nauru government is in line with the current international landscape and the prevailing trends considered that China is the world's second largest economy, and its mutually beneficial cooperation with countries in the Pacific region has achieved great success, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Centre of East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Monday.

The Belt and Road Initiative has improved the economic level and people's livelihoods of many countries in the region. These solid achievements are acknowledged by the government and the people of Nauru, which also recognized that China is a reliable and trusted partner, Chen said.

Since Tsai Ing-wen took office as Taiwan regional leader in 2016, a total of 10 countries have severed "diplomatic relations" with the Taiwan region, leaving the number of countries that maintain the so-called relations with the region to 12, media reported.

In recent years, there have been fewer and fewer countries that have maintained so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan region, and the direct cause is the secessionist actions of the DPP authorities, Zheng Jian, deputy director of research study committee of China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification and professor of Taiwan research institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Monday. "None of the 12 countries that have so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan region have maintained solid relations with the DPP authorities."

"If Lai Ching-te takes office and continues advocating 'Taiwan independence,' instigating confrontation across the Straits, Nauru's decision will only serve as a starting point," Zheng said, noting that as more stubborn Lai's position becomes, more countries will make the correct choice by defying the pressure.

The 1992 Consensus is the key to Taiwan's "international space," some experts said. Only by returning to the 1992 Consensus can the status of the Taiwan authorities in NGOs and the "international space" for economic, social and cultural exchanges with other countries have a future, and Taiwan will have a future, Zheng said.

It was the choice made by Nauru as a sovereign state, which also shows that the one-China principle is the aspiration of the people and the trend of the times and is unstoppable, Mao Ning, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told at a press conference on Monday.

"Making the choice of breaking the so-called diplomatic relations with Taiwan also showed that some countries become immune to the DPP authorities' 'dollar diplomacy' or some delusion of maintaining the relations through various means," Xin Qiang, deputy director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times on Monday.

David Adeang, was elected as Nauru's new leader in October 2023. Its former president Russ Kun, who had led a delegation to Taiwan, that month, was ousted from office in a legislature vote of no confidence.

Kun's foreign policy has been widely questioned in Nauru, and his departure shows that the "pro-Taiwan" forces are unpopular in Nauru, which also showed that although the DPP's manipulation with economic aid as bait may achieve some short-term results, it cannot change the general trend of the one-China principle, experts said.

Nauru has been facing severe economic challenges such as high unemployment rates and has to tackle the climate change as one of the pressing issues while China's cooperation with other Pacific countries such as Papua New Guinea (PNG), Fiji and Vanuatu has set good example for the region, Yu Lei, chief research fellow at the Research Center for Pacific Island Countries of Liaocheng University, told the Global Times on Monday.

"New generation of politicians in Nauru are also dissatisfied toward the Western control over the country's politics. All those factors led the Pacific island nation to make the correct choice," Yu said.

International consensus

In contrast to very few Western countries that had extended so-called "congratulations" to Taiwan's regional election, an ill-intentioned move aiming to turn the Taiwan question into an international question, most countries openly reemphasize the one-China principle, firmly support China in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, oppose any form of "Taiwan independence" and support China's reunification.

Not only Russia, but also many countries and international organizations, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Belarus, Serbia, Hungary, PNG, Cuba, Venezuela, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Arab League made those comments, Mao said.

"This is the voice of justice and peace of the international community, reflecting the broad consensus of the international community in firmly upholding the UN Charter and the basic norms governing international relations, which represents the trend of the times and the general trend of history," the spokesperson said.

No matter how the regional political landscape in the island evolves, achieving complete reunification of China will be accomplished, experts said, noting that the mainland is always in high vigilance and fully prepared against the risks of "Taiwan independence" and their collusion with external forces to instigate cross-Straits conflicts.

The Chinese embassies in Canada, Japan, France and the UK as well as Mission of China to the EU expressed their strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to countries and regions that congratulated the island on the regional election.

"Those few countries, especially the US, congratulated the election out of many considerations, including geopolitical competition and ideological confrontation, against China," Xin said, noting that other countries are not eligible to make such comments on the regional election as Taiwan is part of China.

On Monday, a delegation of former US officials met Taiwan regional leaders such as Tsai Ing-wen and Lai, toward which the Chinese Foreign Ministry also expressed the firm opposition as the election is China's regional affairs.

"The immediate dispatch of a so-called unofficial US delegation to Taiwan doesn't hide Washington's satisfaction and serves primarily to encourage the DPP authorities, reassuring them of US support," Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

However, the relatively low level of the delegation also suggests that the US is not seeking an escalation of the Taiwan question, Lü said.