REGARDING the letter of the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines titled 'One China principle brooks no challenges and distortions' (The Manila Times, Oct. 10, 2024), we have the following points to respond to.

1. The Republic of China was established in 1911 with the dream of creating a democratic republic of the people, by the people and for the people. After the defeat in the civil war in 1949, the central government of the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan, but it continues to exist, thrive and exercise sovereign rights. While we have never denied some of those historical truths mentioned in the letter, including the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation, they cannot deny that the continuous existence of the Republic of China in Taiwan is an objective and indisputable fact. Actually, the People's Republic of China (PRC) has never governed Taiwan for a single day.