Opinion Piece: The Author is Dr Zhou Pingjian, the Ambassador of China to Kenya.
In disregard of China’s solemn representations, United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brazenly went ahead with her visit to Taiwan. This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués.
It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”, which has aroused strong indignation among the Chinese people and widespread opposition from the international community.
The U.S. should not dream of obstructing China’s reunification. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. No matter how the United States supports or connives at the “Taiwan independence” forces, it will be all in vain. This has been clearly recognised by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971, “Decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognise the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organisations related to it”. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations. The complete reunification of China is the trend of the times and an inevitability of history.
The third-highest ranking figure
The U.S. should not fantasise about distorting facts at will. Any US government institution, executive, legislative and judicial alike, must act on the foreign policy recognised and committed to by the U.S. government. In 1979, the United States made a clear commitment in the China-U.S. Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations – “The U.S. recognises the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole government. Within this context, Americans will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan”.
Congress, as a part of the U.S. government, is inherently obliged to strictly observe the one-China policy of the U.S. government and refrain from having any official exchanges with Taiwan. The House Speaker, being the third-highest ranking figure in the U.S. government, flied on the American military aircraft and made a provocative visit to Taiwan, it was by no means an unofficial action. China absolutely does not accept this, and the Chinese people absolutely reject this. The U.S. must fulfil its international obligations, and key politicians should not misbehave.
The U.S. should not fantasise about manipulating geopolitical games. Seeking peace, stability, development and win-win cooperation are the common aspirations of regional countries. The Taiwan authorities have kept seeking U.S.support for their independence agenda.
They refuse to recognise the 1992 Consensus, go all out to push forward “de-sinicisation”, and promote “incremental independence”. The introduction of the Taiwan question into the regional strategy by the U.S., which inflates tensions and stokes confrontation, is against the trend of regional development. The U.S. has been attempting to use Taiwan to contain China. It constantly distorts, obscures and hollows out the one-China principle, steps up its official exchanges with Taiwan, and emboldens “Taiwan independence” separatist activities. These moves, like playing with fire, are extremely dangerous.
The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question has been consistent. It is the firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese sons and daughters to realise the complete reunification of the motherland.
The will of the people is not to be defied, and those who play with fire will perish by it. In the face of the great cause of national unification, the Chinese people have the gut not to be misled by fallacies or scared by evils, the ambition to never be intimidated or crushed, the determination to unite as one, and the ability to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and national dignity.
