Burkina Faso lauded for cutting Taiwan ties
China said on Thursday that it appreciates Burkina Faso’s decision to cut its “diplomatic relations” with Taiwan.
“We welcome Burkina Faso to join in the China-Africa gathering of friendly cooperation as soon as possible on the basis of the one-China principle,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
The foreign minister of Burkina Faso, Alpha Barry, said in a statement to reporters issued on Thursday, “The government of Burkina Faso decides, as of today, to sever its diplomatic relationship with Taiwan.”
Barry said the West African nation’s president, “Roch Marc Christian Kabore, instructed me as minister of foreign affairs and cooperation to make all necessary arrangements for the closure of our embassy in Taipei and that of Taiwan in our country”, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Lu said the additional normalization of China’s ties with African nations Gambia and Sao Tome and Principe in recent years fully shows that the one-China principle is widely accepted in the world and represents an irresistible trend.
Resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly has made it clear that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate government representing all of China, Lu said.
The one-China principle, recognized by the resolution, has become a consensus of the international community, and it involves China’s core interests and the feelings of over 1.3 billion Chinese people, Lu added.
“It is also a precondition and political foundation for China to maintain and develop friendly and cooperative relations with other countries,” he said.
The China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has maintained good momentum, he said, adding that the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to be held in September in Beijing will lead to a new high in bilateral friendly cooperation.
Burkina Faso established ties with Taiwan in 1961 with an interruption in 1973 for some 20 years. Their relationship subsequently resumed in 1994.