Taiwan an inalienable part of China's territory, says SCO secretary-general

The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev has said.

The heads of state of SCO members made the above-mentioned affirmation in a declaration after their historic meeting in St. Petersburg in June 2002, Yermekbayev said during an interview when asked to comment on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan region and the dangerous sign of Japanese right-wing forces attempting to revive militarism.

Noting that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations, Yermekbayev said leaders of the member states of the SCO issued a statement in this regard on September 1 during the SCO Tianjin Summit.

He quoted the statement as saying that the brutal massacres demonstrate that tolerating Nazism, fascism, and militarism and inciting racial, ethnic and religious hatred, antagonism, and discrimination bring about immense harm, while victory in World War II was the result of the concerted efforts of all peace-loving nations.

The statement also emphasized that ignoring historical lessons is bound to lead to grave consequences; preserving and objectively presenting the historical truth of the victory in World War II is an essential prerequisite for preventing similar tragedies from recurring, safeguarding peace and security, and strengthening cooperation, according to Yermekbayev.

He added that the statement called on member states to bear a shared responsibility for both the past and the future, that is, to spare future generations from the scourge of war and spare no effort to prevent such tragedies from happening again.

(With input from Xinhua)