1st LD-Writethru: One-China policy prerequisite for Taiwan to participate in int'l activity

A prerequisite for Taiwan to participate in any international activity is adherence to the one-China policy, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Lu Kang's remarks came after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN organization, decided not to invite Taiwan to its assembly in Canada.

Only sovereign states have the right to participate in institutions and activities within the UN framework, Lu said.

Taiwan, as an inalienable part of China, has no right to participate in the ICAO assembly, he added.

On the same day, spokesman for the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office Ma Xiaoguang said that Taiwan cannot participate in the ICAO assembly because the island's current Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration refuses to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which lays out the one-China principle.

Ma said the mainland has a clear and consistent stance toward Taiwan's participation in activities held by international organizations: A proper arrangement based on the one-China principle must be made through cross-Strait consultation.

Taiwan's civil aviation authorities were invited to send staff as non-voting delegates to the ICAO Assembly's 38th session in 2013. Ma said that was a special arrangement, made through consultation, and against the backdrop of amicable development of cross-Strait relations on the understanding that both sides adhere to the 1992 Consensus.

Ma pointed out that the Taiwan side has always enjoyed access to data and information on international aviation security.

The spokesman went on to say, "The DPP administration bears full responsibility for this situation."

The DPP administration should reflect on why the Taiwan side was able to attend the 2013 ICAO Assembly and today cannot, rather than misleading the public by laying unwarranted blame on the mainland, Ma said. Endit