Taiwan talk causes a stir

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying addresses a news conference in Beijing, Dec. 25, 2017. (Photo/fmprc.gov.cn)

China expressed its opposition on Monday to "irresponsible remarks made by other countries" on the Taiwan question after a Swedish official reportedly expressed support for Taiwan's participation in international organizations.

"China's attitude toward Taiwan's participation in events held by international organizations is consistent and clear. That is, they must be dealt with in accordance with the one-China principle," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said in a news conference in Beijing.

Hua's comments came after Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom was quoted as saying she held a positive attitude toward Taiwan's pursuit of observer status in the World Health Organization.

According to the Taipei-based Central News Agency, the Swedish foreign minister recently expressed support for Taiwan to participate in events of various international organizations while not requiring the status of a state, and will continue to support Taiwan's attendance at the expert meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organization.

"Matters involving Taiwan are China's internal affairs and China is firmly opposed to other countries' irresponsible remarks on this issue," Hua said.

From 2009 to 2016, the central government made special arrangements for Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly, the WHO's guiding body, as an observer as "Chinese Taipei" in accordance with the 1992 Consensus reached between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan, which embodies the one-China principle.

However, authorities in Taiwan, led now by the Democratic Progressive Party, have refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, thus setting a barrier to Taiwan's WHA attendance.

Wang Yiwei, a professor of international studies at Renmin University of China, said Sweden is playing "the Taiwan card" in an effort to resist China's growing global influence.

"This reflects a typical attitude toward China held by some Western countries," he said.

However, bilateral ties between China and Sweden could be affected if such an incident is not properly dealt with, Wang said.