Rewinding a bit now to a couple of clumsy remarks by the Prime Minister on the very sensitive subject of Taiwan that his office clarified today.
Asked about Australia’s stance on Taiwan on Melbourne’s 3AW radio last week,Scott Morrison said Australia had “always understood the… one country,two systems” arrangement.
That is a policy that Australia supports in Hong Kong,which is a semi-autonomous region of China,even if the Chinese Communist Party has effectively demolished many of the pillars of the system that made it different from the mainland,including freedom of speech and a democratic HK legislative council.
But it’s not Australia’s policy toward Taiwan,which the CCP sees as a wayward province. There,“one country,two systems” has been the gist of a CCP offer to the island.
Australia’s approach is to recognise China rather than Taiwan,but maintain unofficial relations with the island,which has its own democratically elected government.
Just yesterday the Prime Minister repeated his confused language in an interview with SBS’s Anna Henderson.
Henderson:“You made a recent comment about Taiwan. You referred to it as ‘one country,two systems’. Why did you say that?”
Morrison:“Well what we know is that we have a situation with China where we’ve recognised,we’ve recognised how they have seen these relationships within the region,particularly in relation to Taiwan and formerly Hong Kong and things of that nature,and so Australia understands that,that’s always been the basis of our policies.”
Henderson:“But did you make a mistake in that comment?”
Morrison:“No.”
In the wash-up,a government spokesman emphasised that Australia’s one China policy had not changed. That means that Australia does not recognise Taiwan as a country but maintains separate unofficial contacts with Taiwan promoting economic,trade and cultural interests.
“The Prime Minister’s comments on ‘one country two systems’ were in relation to Hong Kong,” the spokesman said.
For an explainer on Taiwan,China and Australia, from foreign correspondentEryk Bagshaw.