China Uncomfortable with Official Mention of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang Issues
Taiwan Expresses Gratitude for G7 Official Reference... "The World is Paying Attention to Cross-Strait Relations"
[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] After the issues of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Xinjiang Uyghur were officially mentioned in the joint statement of the Group of Seven (G7) summit, China fiercely criticized the G7 as "pseudo-multilateralism." It also expressed discomfort with the US-led G7 statement, saying the era of a small group dominating the world is over.
Meanwhile, Taiwan issued an official statement expressing deep gratitude for the G7 member countries' support for Taiwan.
According to Chinese media including the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 14th, the Chinese Embassy in the UK, regarding the G7 summit, stated that the era when a small group controlled the world is already over and criticized the G7 summit as pseudo-multilateralism aimed at achieving their own political interests. It also downplayed the G7 summit as merely a collusion of several countries for their own interests to contain the rising China.
Regarding the G7 summit's decision to provide 1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines by the end of next year, it was evaluated as late and insufficient. Xinhua pointed out that over 44% of COVID-19 vaccines are used in wealthy countries, while vaccine usage in poor countries is only 0.4%, criticizing that developed countries should have made the decision to share vaccines earlier. It also claimed that developed countries decided to share vaccines under international public pressure and that 1 billion doses alone are insufficient.
Xinhua also reported that former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, "The G7's vaccine-sharing promise is late and not strong enough to be an actual solution. The first phase of epidemic control has failed."
Xinhua further reported the evaluation of UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres, stating, "The G7's vaccine sharing is the right decision, but Western efforts in global epidemic control are insufficient."
Global Times added that there were some differences of opinion among G7 member countries regarding the US's China pressure card. While the US, UK, and Canada argued for a stronger approach to containing China, some countries like France showed different views.
Meanwhile, regarding the first-ever mention of Taiwan in the G7 summit statement, the Taiwanese government issued an official statement expressing deep gratitude for the G7 member countries' support for Taiwan. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that "the G7 member country leaders showed through concrete actions that they value peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait," welcoming and deeply appreciating this.
Presidential Office spokesperson Chang Tun-han also said, "This shows that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait have become a major focus beyond the scope of cross-strait relations, attracting great attention in the Indo-Pacific region and the world," adding, "Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are especially important for a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
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