Kenya reaffirms position on one-China principle

Kenya has reiterated that, just like the rest of Africa, the country recognizes Taiwan as an inalienable part of China.

In a symposium hosted on Monday in Nairobi and attended by officials, members of parliament and scholars from different backgrounds, speakers condemned any attempts to derail China's complete reunification.

Former cabinet secretary for foreign affairs Raphael Tuju said that the Taiwan authorities' pro-independence remarks are nothing but ridiculous and fraudulent.

Tuju noted that African countries overwhelmingly supported United Nations Resolution 2758, which undertook to restore all its rights to the People's Republic of China. He said this was because China had stood with Africa in its independence and post-independence struggles.

"There is a potential disruption of world stability. China is a gentle giant that has advanced its development agenda under the banner of peace and should not be provoked to war," he said, adding that ideological differences and business rivalry were among the main factors fueling the foreign forces which agitate for Taiwan's secession.

Tuju also stated that the joint communique between China and Kenya, which he oversaw in 2006 as the foreign cabinet secretary that reiterated Kenya's support for the one-China principle, still stands and the Kenyan government maintains there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

Jane Makori, deputy director of Asia and Pacific affairs in Kenya's Foreign Ministry, said the country's position is that Taiwan remains a province of the People's Republic of China. She made a reference to the recent joint statement by both Kenyan and Chinese foreign ministries in January as a demonstration that Kenya recognizes one China.

In the statement, Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi said that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and the one-China principle is a universally recognized basic norm.

Strategic ambiguity

Peter Kagwanja, director at the Africa Policy Institute, based in Nairobi, said that the United States' stand in encouraging the so-called Taiwan independence is strategic ambiguity since it recognizes one China following UN Resolution 2758. He added that the National Security Strategy document adopted in October 2022 clearly stated that China must be outcompeted and contained and advocating for Taiwan's independence is part of this strategy.

Zhou Pingjian, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, said China appreciates Kenya's principled stance on the one-China principle, which compellingly demonstrates that both nations address each other's major concerns and core interests.

"Peaceful reunification of China is of benefit not only to the Chinese nation but to all peoples and the international community as a whole. The reunification of China will not harm the legitimate interests of any other country, including any economic interest they have in Taiwan," Zhou said.