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President Tsai accepts Belize ambassador’s credentials, pledges to boost bilateral ties

President Tsai Ing-wen said April 20 that Taiwan is working closely with Belize in expanding exchanges across an array of areas while exploring new opportunities for bilateral cooperation.

Since the government relocated to Taiwan in 1949, it has exercised jurisdiction over Taiwan proper, Penghu Islands, Kinmen Islands, Matsu Islands and a number of smaller islands, while China has been under the control of the authorities in Beijing. Beginning with the acceleration of Taiwan’s democratization in the late 1980s, many restrictions concerning civil exchanges with China have been lifted. Today, Taiwan is one of the biggest investors in China. In 2017, the value of cross-strait bilateral trade was US$139 billion. In that year, travelers from China made nearly 2.7 million visits to Taiwan, up from 329,204 in 2008.

The ROC was founded in 1912 in China. At that time, Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule as a result of the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki, by which the Qing ceded Taiwan to Japan.The ROC government began exercising jurisdiction over Taiwan in 1945 after Japan surrendered at the end of World War II.

The ROC is a sovereign and independent state that maintains its own national defense and conducts its own foreign affairs. As enshrined in the ROC Constitution, thecountry aims to “cultivate good-neighborliness with other nations, and respect treaties and the Charter of the U.N. … promote international cooperation, protect international justice and ensure world peace.” The ultimate goal of the country’s foreign policy is to ensure a favorable environment for the nation’s preservation and long-term development.