BEIJING - China cannot agree with Taiwan region's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year, in order to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to safeguard the sanctity and authority of relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the WHA, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.

Spokesperson Zhao Lijian made the remarks in response to a media query on the issue at a daily press briefing.

It is learned that the Taiwan authority did not receive an invitation letter to the WHA this year, and that many countries sent letters to the World Health Organization (WHO) in support of China's decision of not agreeing to Taiwan region's participation, urging that the Taiwan-related topics not be discussed.

Zhao said such events show that the one-China principle is an international norm and the common consensus of the global community. He said the international community recognizes that there is but one China in the world, that the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

"Taiwan's participation in the activities of international organizations including the WHO must be dealt with in accordance with the one-China principle," he said.

Zhao pointed out that before 2016, the Taiwan region was able to participate in the WHA under a special arrangement made through cross-Straits consultations on the basis of the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle upheld by both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

He said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has placed its political intentions above the well-being of the people of Taiwan, adding that, since it came to power in 2016, the DPP has obstinately adhered to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence" and refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, thus unilaterally undermining the political foundation for Taiwan's participation in the WHA.

Noting that the Chinese central government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of Taiwan compatriots, Zhao pointed out that the central government has notified Taiwan 260 times about the epidemic and approved the participation of Taiwan health experts in WHO technical activities 16 times since the outbreak of COVID-19.

Ignoring the general desire of the international community to focus on anti-epidemic cooperation and the lives of Taiwan compatriots, the DPP authority has used the pandemic as an excuse for political manipulation, and violated the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1, Zhao said.

He said that in interfering with the conference process and undermining international cooperation in the fight against the epidemic, the real aim of the DPP authority in making Taiwan-related proposals at the WHA is to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan".

By Thursday, more than 150 countries had expressed their support for China's decision through diplomatic channels, while the representatives of nearly 80 member states had sent letters to the WHO to express their adherence to the one-China principle and their opposition to Taiwan's participation in the WHA, Zhao said.

"This has once again proved that the one-China principle is the aspiration of the international community and the overriding trend," he said, adding that it reflects the just and correct position of the vast majority of countries on Taiwan-related issues.

Noting that the United States and a few other countries were backing the DPP authority and hyping up Taiwan-related issues at the WHA, Zhao said their conspiracy is doomed to fail.