2023-04-16 14:06:13
On Saturday night, a letter was released from the Foreign Ministry to the Minister of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo, reminding him that the guiding principle of relations with China is “one China.” The letter caused uncertainty, as it was known just before President Gustavo Petro’s trip to the United States and in the midst of the ongoing tension between Taiwan and the Chinese government.
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In the letter, the intentions of this administration to “deepen relations with the nations of the Indo-Pacific region” are recognized, but, at the same time, it was recalled that relations with the People’s Republic of China, whose president is Xi Jinping, are developed under the guideline of “one China”
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This implies that, in the face of the dispute between Taiwan and China, Colombia does not recognize the independence of the former, but instead considers that both are parts of the same administrative unit.
Under this guiding principle, the letter asks Minister Ocampo to inform other members of his portfolio that “the People’s Republic of China and its authorities are the only legitimate State. Therefore, Colombia does not have official or semi-official diplomatic relations with the Taiwan, China region.
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In this same sense, and “as a consequence”, officials were emphasized that “they must refrain from having contact, meetings and/or demonstrations of support with officials from the Taiwan region.”
Despite the fact that the document caused curiosity and doubts regarding a possible irregular relationship with Taiwan officials, from the Foreign Ministry they assure that it is something completely “routine” and that it has to be done.
“It is a circular that we send to all State entities recalling the principle of ‘one China’ as the basis of our relations with this country. The Foreign Ministry routinely does that”, was the explanation given by Foreign Minister Leyva.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expanded this information by saying that this type of communication must be done with “a certain regularity” since “some regional and local governments sometimes carry out acts that imply the recognition of Taiwan, which generates annoyance from the government Chinese”.
Regarding the reason for the letter to Ocampo, in the Foreign Ministry they indicate that he went preventively to various government agencies before an event that was held in Congress, in which members of opposition parties “officially received representatives of Taiwan”.
There have been several occasions in which members of the Colombian legislature appear in events in Congress with representatives of Taiwan. Given the need for said “government” to gain international recognition as opposed to the People’s Republic of China, each event is publicized and highlighted in their digital spaces as a way of showing legitimacy and diplomatic dialogue.
Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado
POLITICAL WRITING
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