Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) The Republic of China is an independent sovereignty and its de-facto existence is a reality that cannot be denied or changed, President Chen Shui-bian said Tuesday.
Chen made the remarks during a meeting with former South Korean President Kim Young Sam at the Presidential Office. Kim arrived in Taiwan a day earlier for an eight-day visit.
Stressing that the ROC is a great nation that is not a part of the People's Republic of China, Chen said that the existence of this country and its status are nothing but the truth. "Taiwan's status as an independent and sovereign nation cannot be denied or changed, a fact that has nothing to do whether a foreign country sets up diplomatic ties with it or not, " Chen noted, pointing to his March 20 re-election.
Chen said he will safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty, dignity and security as the country's paramount leader and he called for a normalization of cross-Taiwan Strait ties through an early reopening of negotiations with mainland China. This has always been his basic stance and was outlined in his Oct. 10 National Day address and his May 20 inaugural speech, he pointed out.
He also thanked Kim for visiting Taiwan and made it clear that maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait and the Asia-Pacific region is one of his top concerns.
Peace in Northeast Asia is in the best interests of both Taiwan and South Korea, and the establishment of a trilateral security dialogue forum among Taiwan, Japan and South Korea is vital to that end, he said.