Deputy Foreign Minister Sun Weidong lodged a strong protest with the South Korean ambassador over remarks made by the South Korean president regarding Taiwan. In an interview with Reuters, the president stated that "the increasing tensions surrounding Taiwan are due to attempts to change the status quo by force, opposing those attempts."
He added that "the Taiwan issue is not just a matter between China and Taiwan, but a global issue like the North Korea issue." According to the statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the deputy minister said that "the South Korean president's remarks are completely unacceptable," noting that "the South Korean leader did not reference the One China principle but equated the Taiwan issue with that of the Korean Peninsula."
He continued: "North and South Korea are sovereign states that joined the United Nations. It is well known that the issues of the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan are completely different in nature and cannot be compared at all."
China claims that "Taiwan is part of its territory," a stance that Taipei rejects. China demands that countries with which it has relations adopt its position that Taiwan is Chinese territory.
