Netherlands to face boycott over Taiwan

The Netherlands’ provocative move in changing its trade and investment office in Taiwan island to Netherlands Office Taipei, aimed at lifting its political relations with the island, is destructive to the regional stability and likely to face backlash, analysts said.

The Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands has contacted the Dutch Foreign Ministry to lodge solemn representations after Guy Wittich, Representative of the Netherlands Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan, announced the simplification of the office’s name to the Netherlands Office Taipei.

The Chinese embassy has made a request for clarification of the matter.

The embassy stressed that the Taiwan question concerns China’s core interests and adhering to the one China principle is the political foundation for developing China-Netherlands relations. China urges the Netherlands to honor its commitment to the principle, properly handle Taiwan-related issues and take concrete actions to maintain the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations.

Chinese netizens irritated by the Netherlands’ move called on the Chinese companies to immediately stop exporting medical supplies to the country, and appealed to others to boycott all Dutch products and cancel their travel plans to the country.

Some netizens posted photos of Zheng Chenggong, a military leader in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) who expelled the Dutch invaders and colonialists from Taiwan in 1662, and commented that “although he was from the Ming dynasty, many of his descendants are still here, just across the Taiwan Straits.”

The Netherlands aims to lift its political relations with Taiwan island and strengthen its interference in China’s internal affairs, which is extremely destructive to regional stability and has seriously disturbed international efforts to combat COVID-19, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.