Taiwan Photo: Unsplash

 
Taiwan's "foreign ministry" said groundlessly on Monday that China has pressured the Turkish government to remove Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's tweet which shows Taiwan's "banner" among those who gave a hand to earthquake-struck Turkey. 

On Saturday, Erdogan posted a series of tweets, which included the flags of aid-givers to Turkey. The country was hit by a magnitude-7 earthquake last week. "Many thanks from the Republic of Turkey to all friendly nations and international organizations for their good wishes and statements of support following the earthquake in Izmir."

"Taiwan's flag" was found on the initial version of Erdogan's tweet, which was first found to have been deleted on Sunday. In a new version of the tweet, there was no Taiwan "banner," but voices like "Turkey apparently bowed to China" rose from the secessionists on the island of Taiwan. 

Some Taiwan secessionists commented under Erdogan's tweet, asking for apologies from Turkey. Ironically, some used the meme of "Taiwan flag" in their remarks but posted the Taiwan secessionists' flag as their image, which led analysts to say the incident shows fragile self-esteem and a chaotic division about the national identity of Taiwan secessionists.

"May I ask why Taiwan's flag was removed from the friendly nations list? Please add it back and show some respect," said an internet user from Taiwan. 

"Because Taiwan is not a country at all," a Twitter user replied. 

It is a fact recognized by the international community that Taiwan is not a country, and exchanges between the island of Taiwan and Turkey can only be non-governmental, so that's why posting the Taiwan "banner" is serious misconduct, Wang Jianmin, a Taiwan affairs expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday. 

Turkey has diplomatic ties with China, so deleting the tweet with the "Taiwan flag" shows its adherence to the one-China principle. The attacks from Taiwan secessionists confuse right and wrong, said Wang. 

"Almost all countries in the world recognize the one-China principle, and those who seek Taiwan independence should have a clear understanding of the international situation and their own conditions," said Wang.