By Liu Huan, Wang Chenghao
President Xi Jinping elaborated on China’s principled position on the Taiwan question at the recent virtual meeting with his US counterpart, President Joe Biden. Several experts pointed out that the discussions about the Taiwan question during the meeting are clear and indisputable. The two major countries are sending a strong message against “Taiwan independence” to the international community.
The interviewed experts said the US government has repeatedly reaffirmed its position of not supporting “Taiwan independence”. The US side should abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués, and prudently and properly handle the Taiwan question to prevent damage to bilateral relations and the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.
According to Wang Yingjin, Director of the Center for Cross-Straits Relations Studies at Renmin University of China, the cross-Strait situation is facing a new wave of tensions recently because the DPP authorities are still trying to seek US support for their independence agenda and some Americans insist on using Taiwan to contain China.
This has caused the international community to worry about possible conflicts across the Taiwan Strait. The virtual meeting between Chinese and American heads of state sent a loud and clear message against “Taiwan independence” that answered the misgivings and concerns of various parties.
Li Haidong, Director of the American Studies Center of China Foreign Affairs University, pointed out that the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués lay the political foundation for bilateral relations, to which successive US administrations have made clear commitments.
Lately, some Americans have kept making wrong remarks and moves on the Taiwan question in an attempt to confuse and blur the one-China principle. In response, the Chinese government has repeatedly lodged stern representations to the US side.
The interviewed experts held that the contents and connotations of the one-China principle are definite and explicit both politically and legally. It is enshrined in the three China-US joint communiqués, the UN Resolution 2758, and other formal international agreements and documents with legal force. There is no room for tampering, distortion or denial..
As the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said, both the so-called “Taiwan Relations Act” and the “Six Assurances”, concocted by some forces in the US, contravene the three China-US joint communiques. In essence, they place US domestic law above international obligations and are illegal and invalid.
Li Haidong analyzed that at the recent meeting, the Chinese side once again made it clear to the US side that Taiwan will have no other future than being reunified with the mainland. China hoped the US side will follow the overwhelming trend, abandon short-sighted petty gains on the Taiwan question, and promote the peaceful and steady development of China-US relations.
In the past few days, the DPP authorities have made carping comments on media reports from the mainland about the Xi-Biden virtual meeting, hyped up America’s so-called “commitment to Taiwan”. In response, experts said the Taiwan authorities’ attempt to seek “independence” by leveraging on external forces would never succeed, and the DPP’s stubbornness and obsession will lead it to a lethal blow.
According to Li, US President Biden’s explicit stance on the Taiwan question sent a clear message to the international community that “Taiwan independence” is unacceptable. This has smashed the DPP’s illusion that Washington will endorse its “Taiwan independence” dream.
It’s known to all that the US plays the “Taiwan card” in order to contain China’s development, but at the same time, they also fully know that supporting “Taiwan independence” will bring destructive consequences, and won’t sacrifice its overall interests for that.
“The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and core national interests,” said Ni Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies. He slammed the DPP for stubbornly clinging to their position of “Taiwan independence”, challenging the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and colluding with foreign forces to seek the so-called independence and provoke Beijing, which poses the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. Curbing the attempts at “Taiwan independence” and severing the collusion between the US and Taiwan Island is maintaining the cross-Strait peace and managing risks, so as to keep the Taiwan question from inflicting subversive and comprehensive damage to China-US relations.
Wang Yingjin stressed that “Taiwan independence” attempts will only bring more tensions and turmoil to the Strait and more disasters to the residents on the island. The Chinese mainland has repeatedly said that it will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and effort, and will never leave any room for “Taiwan independence”.
