New Zealand to stay with Taiwan's backing despite Chinese criticism

The New Zealand foreign minister said on Tuesday that the country had to defend itself after China threatened to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization, which would damage bilateral relations.

Last week, the New Zealand prime ministers said that Taiwan should be allowed to join WHO as an observer, given its huge success in limiting the spread of the coronavirus. Taiwan only reported 440 cases of coronavirus and 7 deaths. However, China has told New Zealand that it should "stop making false statements".

Taiwan has been excluded from participation in the WHO due to pressure from China, which refuses to recognize the sovereignty of the island. He attended the decision-making body of WHO, the World Health Assembly, as an observer from 2009 to 2016, when relations between Taipei and Beijing became warmer, but China blocked participation after the election of Taiwanese President Tsai. Ing-wen.

"We have to defend ourselves. And true friendship is based on equality. However, it is based on the ability of this friendship to disagree," said New Zealand Minister Winston Peters. Foreign Affairs.

He added that he did not think that this issue would harm diplomatic relations with China, which is New Zealand's largest trading partner. "New Zealand's position on Taiwan relates to its huge success against COVID-19," he said.

Beijing recently suspended meat imports from four major slaughterhouses in Australia, after Australia joined the growing number of countries demanding an investigation into how the virus turned from an epidemic located in central China in a global pandemic.