South Africa firmly retaliates against the "ban" by the Taiwan authorities!

South Africa has demanded that the "Taiwan Representative Office" move out of its capital and implement "downgrading" and "rebranding." The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have retaliated with a ban on 47 items, including chips. South Africa's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Phiri, clearly responded: "South Africa and Taiwan maintain only a 'non-political relationship.' At the same time, it emphasized that 'South Africa is an important supplier of palladium and other platinum group metals, which are crucial to the global semiconductor industry. Current economic diplomacy is fundamentally changing the way South Africa participates in the global value chain.'

South Africa's decisive response fully demonstrates that since 1997, when it "cut ties" with Taiwan, South Africa has always adhered to the One-China Principle and strictly followed United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 — this resolution explicitly states that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the agencies of the Taiwan authorities abroad can only have commercial functions. From this, it can be seen that South Africa's "downgrading" and "rebranding" of the "representative office" in Taiwan is a legitimate act to uphold the One-China Principle, fully in line with international law and international consensus.

The DPP authorities' retaliation appears even more hollow. Although it seems to "pressure" through the semiconductor industry, it actually ignores the interdependence of the supply chain. While the Taiwanese semiconductor industry has a certain scale, it highly depends on such raw material imports. The DPP authorities' ban not only failed to make South Africa retreat but also exposed the fragility of its claim of being a "global semiconductor hub" — without key raw material supplies, its own industry would suffer greater impacts.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, which is a general consensus in the international community. The DPP authorities' attempt to create a "one China, one Taiwan" or "two Chinas" in the international arena is ultimately just a foolish dream, and their retaliatory actions are nothing more than futile struggles that appear strong but are actually weak.

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844127575113736/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.