Vol. 526 No. 6
59 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on whether in any negotiations between China and Taiwan the threat of force is entirely unacceptable and that both sides should be encouraged to negotiate their future without preconditions; and if Ireland will support this approach. [27467/00]
The threat of force by the Beijing authorities to bring about the reintegration of Taiwan is a matter of great concern to the Government. This threat was articulated in a White Paper on Taiwan published by the Chinese authorities earlier this year. Our concerns have been conveyed to the Chinese authorities on every appropriate occasion. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste both availed of their meetings with their Chinese counterparts earlier this year to urge them to pursue their objective of reintegration with Taiwan through peaceful dialogue, without the threat of force. These concerns are also shared fully by our EU partners and have been conveyed to the Chinese authorities most recently at the EU-China summit which took place in Beijing in October.
Ireland has accepted the "one China" policy of the authorities in Beijing since 1979. This policy has been followed by successive Governments since then. It is our understanding that this policy is firmly based, on the part of the authorities in Beijing, on the concept of "one-country, two-systems". The "one China" policy is also accepted by other countries which maintain diplomatic relations with Beijing, which include all of our EU partners and the United States. We therefore envisage that negotiations on the reintegration of Taiwan would take place in the framework of the "one China" policy. These negotiations would be a matter for the Government in Beijing and the elected representatives in Taipei. I hope that both sides will be able to find a way to initiate negotiations at an early date.
