According to Shangguan News, during the APEC meeting in Bangkok, a reporter asked Australian Prime Minister Albanys: How do you view Taiwan’s accession to CPTPP ( Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement ) and will it support Taiwan’s accession?
Albanys answered this way: CPTPP is a cooperation agreement signed between recognized countries. Taiwan does not fall into this category, it now participates in APEC as an economy. (Australia) Both parties support the one-China policy. We support maintaining the status quo on the Taiwan issue and do not want to see any unilateral measures to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
related remarks were immediately interpreted by Australian media as Australia is unlikely to support Taiwan in joining the CPTPP, causing shock on the island. In response, Ou Jiangan, spokesman of the foreign affairs department of the Taiwan authorities, claimed on the evening of the 18th that the "unit stationed in Australia" immediately asked the Australian government for clarification of the original intention. The Australian government clarified afterwards that its position on Taiwan's joining the CPTPP has not changed, and it still welcomes all economies that meet the high standards and norms of CPTPP, including Taiwan, to join. The Taiwan Foreign Affairs Department welcomed the Australian government's reaffirmation of its consistent position on Taiwan's joining the CPTPP.
Taiwan's "Executive Yuan" Economic and Trade Office chief negotiator Deng Zhenzhong also took out the CPTPP application clause at the APEC Media Center on the evening of the 18th, saying that Taiwan applied for joining in the name of "Taiwan, Penghu, Jin and Malaysia's individual tariff fields" in accordance with the WTO model. He is also an APEC member and has no qualifications.
Although Taiwan officials have repeatedly clarified, the Kuomintang "legislator" Chen Yixin criticized it hard. It is obvious that the DPP authorities' work to promote the participation of CPTPP to the outside world is not effective. Even Australia, which is a "strong ally of the United States and Japan, has failed to clearly express its support for Taiwan's application for membership. If Australia does not agree, Taiwan will not be able to join the membership, and the Tsai administration's policy is likewise delayed.
