Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome this motion, regarding the sovereignty of Taiwan, and the opportunity to speak to it. I believe Australia and the rest of the world should recognise Taiwan for the independent sovereign nation it has effectively been since the 1950s. Taiwan is highly industrialised, technologically advanced, socially cohesive and democratic. Taiwan has all the features, characteristics and institutions of a modern nation-state, including self-determination. Taiwan is Australia's sixth largest export market, with two-way trade valued at over $40 billion. Taiwan is also a critical source of Australia's refined petroleum imports—almost $4 billion worth—and it produces about 90 per cent of the world's advanced semiconductors. I believe communist China has no legitimate claim on Taiwan, or the South China Sea, for that matter.

The nationalist party, which governed Taiwan for a long time after its retreat from mainland China, had ambitions to return and overthrow the communists, but Taiwan formally renounced any claims in the 1990s. Communist China has not reciprocated. The regime's highest priority is to capture Taiwan, most likely by force, and turn that beautiful island nation of 24 million free people into another oppressed, polluted, communist hellhole. Communist China's frequent military harassment of Taiwan is aimed at provoking a confrontation to justify an invasion. It's extremely dangerous brinkmanship that puts lives at risk.

The only thing keeping the communists in check is the formidable power of Taiwan's military, another feature of its independent sovereignty backed by the United States. The so-called One China policy is a polite farce that does not reflect reality and appeases a communist regime. There is communist China and there is— (Time expired)