Prime Minister Scott Morrison has doubled down on comments that Australia’s Taiwan policy was guided by China’s "one country, two systems” framework, prompting his office to clarify that the government’s stance hasn’t changed in a way that could been seen as a concession to Beijing.
Morrison has reaffirmed remarks made May 6 in which he said Australia followed a "one country, two systems” approach to Taiwan — a governing system used in Hong Kong that’s widely unpopular in Taipei. Asked by SBS News on Wednesday whether he had made a mistake, Morrison repeated the assertion.
"What we know is that we have a situation with China where we’ve recognized — we’ve recognized — how they see these relationships within the region, and particularly in relation to Taiwan, formerly Hong Kong and things of that nature,” Morrison told SBS. "And so Australia understands that and that’s always been the basis of our policies.”