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Taiwan
ChinaDiplomacy

Beijing summons South Korean envoy over ‘totally unacceptable’ Taiwan comments by President Yoon

  • President Yoon Suk-yeol’s comments equating Taiwan to the South and North Korea issue has sparked a war of words with Beijing
  • The two issues ‘are completely different in nature’, vice foreign minister Sun Weidong says after summoning the South Korean ambassador

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Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong has urged South Korea to ‘adhere to the one-China principle and be careful in its words and actions on the Taiwan issue’. Photo: AP
Zhuang Pinghuiin Beijing
Chinese vice foreign minister Sun Weidong has summoned the South Korean envoy to lodge “solemn representations” over President Yoon Suk-yeol’s remarks on Taiwan, calling them “erroneous” and “totally unacceptable”.
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This comes after Yoon said increased tensions in the Taiwan Strait were due to attempts to change the status quo by force, and that he opposed such a change.

The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between mainland China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is “a global issue”, Yoon told Reuters last week.

“The … remarks [by Yoon] are totally unacceptable and China expresses its grave concern and strong dissatisfaction,” Sun told South Korean ambassador Chung Jae-ho, according to a foreign ministry statement issued on Sunday.

“The South Korean leader did not mention a single word about the one-China principle, but compared the Taiwan issue with the Korean peninsula issue,” Sun said.
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“The issue of the Korean peninsula and the issue of Taiwan are completely different in nature and latitude and are not comparable at all.”

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