DPP condemns China for new passports

The DPP’s Central Standing Committee Meeting of Nov. 28 issued a statement condemning China for including parts of Taiwan (Nantou County’s Sun Moon Lake and Hualien County’s Chingshui Cliffs) as Chinese territory into their new passports. The statement criticizes China for violating Taiwan’s sovereignty and damaging mutual trust, and it also denounces President Ma Ying-jeou’s response to China as “weak”. 




During China’s 18^th National Party Congress, China proclaimed that they will consistently adopt the peaceful development approach and that it will persist in treating its neighbors righteously and as partners.

DPP Chair Su Tseng-chang said that the Chinese new passports incident, however, displayed that China is picking and choosing only what benefits them from their “peaceful development” foreign policy, and because now more than ever, they wish to emphasize their sovereign authority over the disputed territories, they are having more contentions with neighboring countries, which is extremely damaging to regional peace and stability.

“The DPP believes that the only solution is for China to embrace the spirit of equality, mutual trust and respect for the sovereignty of other countries, and China must assume the role of a responsible larger power in order to really implement their goal of peaceful development.”

Chair Su further noted that Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country, and it has no mutual jurisdiction with the People’s Republic of China. For China to issue the new Chinese passports that include as their territory the Taiwan territories of Nantou and Hualien Counties is a clear violation of Taiwan’s sovereignty, and it is not helping to establish mutual trust, he said.

Regarding the government’s responses by Taiwan to China, Chair Su said that the DPP strongly condemns them as very weak, and both the passive response from the Presidential Office spokesperson and the Mainland Affairs Council lacked counter measures against China.

“The DPP, besides raising the severest of objections towards China, requests the Chinese government to immediately correct this type of damage to the status quo in order to avoid unfavorable diplomatic circumstances. We also demand President Ma to immediately hold an international press conference and announce to the international community the reality that the sovereignties of Taiwan and China have no mutual jurisdiction. President Ma must also direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior and the Mainland Affairs Council to adopt the necessary counter measures to protect Taiwan’s sovereignty. The DPP Legislative Caucus will rigidly supervise on these government entities in order to exert all its efforts into performing the task of protecting Taiwan’s sovereignty.”

DPP condemns China for new passports