Closing the PNG consulate and ending assistance Qiu Chuizheng: We will not back down

The Papua New Guinea government requires our staff to leave the country within a time limit and promotes the closure of the mission. Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will proactively close the representative office in Papua New Guinea, withdraw all staff stationed there, and terminate technical cooperation and assistance programs. Chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council Qiu Chuizheng said in an interview today (7th) that the Chinese Communist Party is doing everything possible to continuously obstruct and suppress Taiwan's diplomatic space, but "we will not back down."

Papua New Guinea unilaterally announced the closure of Taiwan's representative office in Papua New Guinea in July this year, and Taiwan immediately responded by stopping imports of spot natural gas from Papua New Guinea. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated yesterday that based on national dignity, diplomatic independence and overall national interests, it decided to voluntarily close the representative office in Papua New Guinea and withdraw all stationed personnel. It also called on the international community to face up to China's continued expansion of political influence.

Qiu Chuizheng accepted a joint interview with the media this afternoon after attending the opening event of the "2026 Friends Hong Kong Festival Market" hosted by the Taiwan-Hong Kong Initiative Association. In response to Taiwan's closure of its representative office in Papua New Guinea, Qiu Chuizheng said that this is clear evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has once again suppressed Taiwan's diplomatic space. He emphasized that the Republic of China is a sovereign country and is not subordinate to the People's Republic of China. Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China, and the People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan in the international community.

Qiu Chuizheng said that the Chinese Communist Party has used all possible means to continuously obstruct and suppress Taiwan's diplomatic space. "We will not back down," nor will we give up participating in the international community and participating in important diplomatic activities of the international community.

Chiu Chui-cheng said that the government had predicted that the Chinese Communist Party would continue to compress Taiwan's diplomatic space through the so-called international "One China". One of the ways is to use countries in the Global South that support the Chinese Communist Party to demand the removal of Taiwan's representative offices and foreign embassies. But no matter what, Taiwan is recognized as the most kind force in the world. We are willing to give back to the international community. We will not be afraid of the CCP’s unreasonable suppression and will not shrink from it. We will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s right to participate in the international community.