Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on May 20, 2020 |
2020-05-20 21:22 |
CCTV: The 73rd WHA adopted the EU-proposed resolution on COVID-19 response. Do you have any comment? Why did China co-sponsor this resolution? Zhao Lijian: On May 19, the 73rd WHA adopted the resolution on COVID-19 response by consensus. China welcomes that. The resolution unequivocally affirms and supports WHO's leading role and calls on member states to prevent discrimination and stigmatization, combat misinformation and disinformation, strengthen cooperation on the research on diagnostics, therapeutics, medicines and vaccines, and the zoonotic source of the virus and evaluate the work of WHO at the appropriate moment. All these are in line with China's position and meet the shared aspiration of the overwhelming majority of the international community. In light of this, China is, along with other more than 140 countries, a co-sponsor of the above-mentioned draft resolution and joined the consensus. On tracing the source of the virus, the resolution basically follows the recommendations issued under the International Health Regulations upon the advice of the Emergency Committee for COVID-19 on May 1, strictly restricting the relevant research to identifying the zoonotic source of the virus, intermediate hosts and the route of introduction to the human population, to enhance preparedness of the international community in the future. This is also a recommendation made by Director-General Tedros. Indeed, certain countries proposed to prioritize tracing the source of virus in the consultations, but the overwhelming majority of countries believed the most pressing concern is epidemic prevention and control. They didn't agree to make tracing the source of virus a priority and rejected such wording, which proves that politicization of this issue gains no support. On the evaluation of WHO response, the resolution decides that the evaluation should be initiated by the Director-General in consultation with member states to review experience gained and make recommendations for future work. The WHO previously made evaluation on its H1N1 flu and Ebola responses, a customary practice for the organization after a major epidemic. The resolution asks for a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation. These four words - stepwise, impartial, independent and comprehensive - are very important as they indicate that the evaluation shall not be monopolized by a handful of countries. China hopes this resolution adopted by WHA will be followed through upon in a comprehensive and accurate manner. The rumor that China was "forced" to co-sponsor the proposal, as falsely claimed by certain media, is totally nonsense. As a matter of fact, China, along with the majority of countries, firmly thwarted the attempt of a few countries to politicize the origin tracing and the evaluation of COVID-19 response, and secured an impartial and objective resolution. Under such circumstances, we took the initiative to be a co-sponsor. We advise a few countries to stop fabricating lies in an attempt to seek excuse for its own failure. Phoenix TV: First question, on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Pompeo sent a congratulatory message to Tsai Ing-wen on the commencement of her second term. He called her "Taiwan's President" and acclaimed Taiwan as a "force for good" and a reliable "partner". This is the first time in decades for a US secretary of state to publicly congratulate the leader of the Taiwan region on starting a new term. I wonder what is China's response? Second question, Tsai Ing-wen said in her inaugural speech that over the next four years, Taiwan will "continue to fight for its participation in international organizations", "participate more actively in regional cooperation mechanisms", and "make concrete contributions to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region". She also stressed that Taiwan will play a more active role in the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region. I wonder what is your response? Zhao Lijian: Regarding what you said in your first question, a foreign ministry statement was released. On May 20, in his statement to congratulate Tsai Ing-wen's assumption of office as the leader of the Taiwan region, US Secretary of State Pompeo called her "Taiwan's President" and boasted about the "partnership" between the US and Taiwan. Some other US officials and politicians also sent congratulatory videos to Tsai. These practices by the US side are in serious violation of the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, and constitute grave interference in China's internal affairs. China deplores and condemns them. There's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. As the China-US Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations clearly stipulates, "The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan." The above-mentioned US practices seriously violate the one-China principle, the three China-US joint communiqués and the US government's own commitment. They have sent a wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and gravely undermined the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as the bilateral relations between China and the US. The Taiwan question concerns China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and core interests. The Chinese government and people are determined in opposing "Taiwan independence" separatist activities, upholding national sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposing external interference and realizing national reunification. We solemnly inform the US that "Taiwan independence" will only lead to a dead end, and attempts to condone and support "Taiwan independence" are doomed to fail. Practices that undermine China's core interests and intervene in China's domestic affairs will be met with forceful fightback, which will not to the slightest extent impede the historical trend of China's reunification. We urge the US to immediately correct its mistakes, abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, cut its official ties with Taiwan, and stop upgrading substantive relations with Taiwan, interfering in China's internal affairs and undermining the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as well as China-US bilateral relations. China will take necessary measures in response to the US erroneous practices, and the consequences will be borne by the US side. As for your second question, the spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council stated our position on the statement made by the leader of the DPP authorities on May 20. I'd like to stress that there's only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. The one-China principle is a basic norm g |