The Chinese communist regime on Monday insisted that Panama puts the “One China Principle” into practice to preserve its diplomatic ties with China after a group of Panamanian lawmakers recently established a friendly working group with legislators from Taiwan.
Last week, members of the Panamanian National Assembly announced the creation of a “Panama-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group” that aims to strengthen friendly ties between the two legislatures and explore options for mutual bilateral benefit opportunities. The Panamanian side of the group includes 43 of its 71 Congressmen — over half of the nation’s elected lawmakers.
The Chinese communist regime has fiercely condemned the Panama-Taiwan parliamentary working group over the past days. Panama, during the administration of former President Juan Carlos Varela, cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 2017 and rapidly embraced China and the Chinese Communist Party’s “One China Principle” which falsely claims that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is a “province” of China rather than a sovereign nation.
Panamanian outlets reported at the time that Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, congratulated both sides over the friendly group’s creation — which appears to have further upset China.
Speaking at a Monday press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson urged Panama to “honor its commitment” to the so-called “One-China Principle,” describing it as the political foundation of China’s relations with Panama.
According to the Chinese state newspaper Global Times, Guo emphasized that China fiercely opposes any form of official exchange between countries that hold diplomatic relations with China and Taiwan and will “not allow any external force to interfere in China’s internal affairs.”
“There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory,” Guo said. The official also warned of “serious consequences” for crossing the line on the “Taiwan question.”
Per Global Times, Guo also urged the United States to abide by the “One China Principle” and to “stop sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence.’”
The creation of the Panama-Taiwan friendly parliamentary group greatly infuriated the Chinese communist regime. Unnamed Panamanian diplomatic sources affirmed to Infobae last week that Chinese diplomats in Panama “went mad” after they found out about the group’s creation. Hours later, the Chinese Embassy in Panama released a lengthy rant accusing the group of standing in violation of both the “One China Principle” and Panama’s foreign policy. According to the embassy, the Chinese government is “the only legitimate government that represents all of China,” including the sovereign country of Taiwan.
Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino referred to the situation on Tuesday with a brief social media post in which he reiterated that the contacts, trips, and exchanges between Panamanian and Taiwanese lawmakers “do not mean that the Executive Branch endorses them.”
“Foreign relations are managed by the executive branch,” he wrote.
In contrast to the Chinese regime’s condemnation, the Taiwanese government has openly celebrated the bilateral parliamentary group in an official statement. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung stated in a video address during the group’s announcement that he hopes that the parliamentary working group further deepens legislative cooperation and create mutual benefit and prosperity.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its gratitude for the unwavering support from all sectors of Panamanian society and will continue to maintain close cooperation with the Panamanian Parliament and the Taiwan Friendship Group to actively promote parliamentary diplomacy and deepen the Taiwan-Panamanian partnership,” the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry said last week.