Two political leaders from Taiwan have spoken out against recent remarks by Lai Ching-te, who claimed that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 pertains only to China's representation at the UN and has "nothing to do with Taiwan."
Their comments came at the Sixth Cross-Strait Exchange Seminar held on Friday in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Lai, at a separate event, asserted that Taiwan is a "sovereign independent nation," drawing criticism from Taiwan's Labor Party President Wu Rongyuan and New Party Chairman Wu Cherng-dean.
"The resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly fully reflects and solemnly affirms the one-China principle. Apart from that, a series of international legal documents after World War II, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, have clearly stated that China has sovereignty over Taiwan. What Lai said has distorted the legal principles and historical facts. Now, the Taiwan separatists are colluding with external forces and going against the motherland. That’s really ridiculous and will only turn out to be a chess piece of others," said Wu Rongyuan.
"Such a Taiwan separatist. Lai tries stubbornly to distort the facts, but what he says and does cannot change everything. There is no dispute that Taiwan is part of China. The compatriots on the Chinese mainland and in Taiwan all know that. So now we are not talking about whether we should reunify the country or not. We are talking about starting to study how to achieve reunification and the great rejuvenation of the nation for the people. I have full confidence that this is the trend and we should work together in this direction," said Wu Cherng-dean.
Both party leaders reiterated that there is only one China and that reunification remains an irreversible trend.
Taiwan party leaders criticize Lai Ching-te for distorting historical facts
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree on Saturday postponing the presidential and legislative elections until Sept 11, 2027, calling for the two elections to be held simultaneously.
The decision follows a resolution by the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and revokes Decree No. 4 of 2026, which had scheduled the legislative elections for Nov 28, 2026, according to the Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA).
The decree cited deteriorating security conditions in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, restrictions on freedom of movement and Israel's continued withholding of Palestinian tax revenues as major challenges to election preparations.
In the Gaza Strip, continued exceptional security and humanitarian conditions, the failure to deploy international stabilization and police forces as envisaged under UN Security Council Resolution 2803, the lack of progress in reconstruction, and the incomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces have created additional obstacles, WAFA reported.
Israeli restrictions on access to Gaza and East Jerusalem for Palestine's Central Elections Commission (CEC) staff and international observers have also hindered preparations and limited electoral bodies' ability to operate in accordance with legal and democratic standards, the agency said.
Under the decree, the CEC is responsible for preparing, organizing and supervising the presidential and legislative elections in accordance with the applicable General Elections Law, ensuring they are free, fair, transparent and inclusive throughout the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.
The decree follows national consultations among Palestinian factions and political forces, which, according to WAFA, reached a consensus to postpone the elections.
The legislative elections were part of a broader Palestinian electoral process amid a political division between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, as well as challenges to holding elections across all Palestinian territories.
Abbas postpones Palestinian presidential, legislative elections to Sept 11, 2027
