China was unhappy and made its displeasure known after Taiwanese President and Chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party wished Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his winning mandate after the results of the Lok Sabha elections 2024 were declared. President of ROC Taiwan, Lai Ching-te wrote to Modi and spoke of the India-Taiwan partnership. However, China refuted the official existence of the presidential post in Taiwan, a region it claims as its own.
“There is no such thing as “president” of the Taiwan region. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is an undeniable fact, a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations,” said the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India.
The spokesperson, before that, had shared the transcript of the briefing with reporters, and said, “There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and a prevailing consensus in the international community. India has diplomatic relations with China and knows China’s position well. On the one-China principle, India has made serious political commitments and is supposed to recognise, be alarmed about and resist the Taiwan authorities’ political calculations.”
In the media briefing, Bloomberg had asked Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning to respond to Ching-te’s message to Modi. Ning said there is no “president” of the Taiwan region, and China opposes all official interactions between Taiwanese authorities and countries having diplomatic relations with China.
China’s sharp reaction comes after Ching-te posted on social media: “My sincere congratulations to Prime Minister @narendramodi on his election victory. We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing Taiwan-India partnership, expanding our collaboration on trade, technology & other sectors to contribute to peace & prosperity in the IndoPacific.”
To this Modi, thanking Ching-te, said that he looks “forward to closer ties” and “mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership”.
China and India’s relations have soured due to border tensions and skirmishes. In a recent such episode, China had protested against PM Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, another region it claims as its own and as Zangnan. India had rubbished China’s claims and called them ludicrous. "Repeating baseless arguments in this regard does not lend such claims any validity," India had said.
Soon after, China had released its latest and the fourth list of geographical names in Arunachal Pradesh, adding 30 additional names. In the third list in April 2023, China had released standardised the names of 11 names in the region using Chinese characters, Tibetan and pinyin.
"We firmly reject such attempts. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” the government had said then.