Taipei [Taiwan], August 17 : Responding to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's claim that Japan "returned" Taiwan to China after World War II, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated that the Republic of China (ROC) is Taiwan's "only sole legal" government, and the "status quo" is that the ROC and the People's Republic of China (PRC) exist equally as separate entities that are not subordinate to each other, reported Taipei Times.
Wang made the remarks on Friday during a press briefing held after the 10th Mekong-Lancang Cooperation Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Anning, Yunnan Province. He attended the meeting alongside foreign ministers from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. The event also marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
In a statement released on Saturday, China's Ministry of National Defence said that Wang had "urged Japan to learn from history to earn respect and avoid straying onto the wrong path again."
"A series of international instruments, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, clearly defined Japan's responsibility for the war and required that Japan return the territories it had stolen from China, including Taiwan," the release quoted Wang as saying, as per reports of Taipei Times.
"This was the unchallengeable outcome of the victory of the world anti-fascist war and constitutes an important part of the post-war international order," it quoted him as saying, the Taipei Times reported.
The Taiwanese Foreign Ministry (MOFA) said Lin strongly rejected Wang's "distortion of history and false claims."
After World War II, the legally binding Treaty of San Francisco replaced the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which were political statements, Lin was quoted by MOFA as saying, according to the Taipei Times.
"The Treaty of San Francisco did not hand over Taiwan to the PRC, and the PRC has never ruled Taiwan," the ministry quoted him as saying.
He noted that since the 1980s, Taiwan has undergone political liberalization and democratization driven from the grassroots level, culminating in its first direct presidential election in 1996.
Since then, the Republic of China's central government and legislature have been elected by popular vote, leading to the establishment of effective governance, he said, according to Taipei Times.
He added that the Republic of China is the "sole legitimate government" representing Taiwan, forming the "status quo" in which the ROC and the PRC exist as separate, equal entities that are not subordinate to each other.
He added that Taiwan has undergone three peaceful transfers of power through presidential elections in 2000, 2008, and 2016, further solidifying its democratic system and political identity, and demonstrating the strong commitment of the Taiwanese people to freedom and democracy.
"It is an objective fact that the ROC, Taiwan and the PRC are not subordinate to each other, and the PRC has no right to represent Taiwan in international society," Lin said.
On Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) called on Beijing to practically and reasonably acknowledge that cross-strait relations can only improve through fair and mutually respectful dialogue with the government democratically elected by the people of Taiwan, according to Taipei Times.
The Ministery further said that at the same time, Taiwan hopes its democratic partners can join together under a "democratic umbrella," and jointly face the challenges posed by authoritarianism and defend shared values and the rules-based international order, as reported by the Taipei Times.