By Zhong Sheng
The US should match its words with deeds, honor its commitment to not supporting “Taiwan independence” or seeking to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and immediately stop any plot and ploy with regard to the one-China principle.
There is but one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is the core concept of the one-China principle and the real status quo in the Taiwan Strait, which has been universally recognized by the international community. US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to China’s Taiwan region has upgraded the relations between the US and the island. It is a grave violation of the one-China principle and a serious provocation intended to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.
The China-US Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations states in black and white that the US side will only maintain unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. As the third highest-ranking official of the US government, Pelosi’s visit to China’s Taiwan region in total disregard of China’s strong objection and stern representations is by no means an unofficial behavior. Pelosi herself even blatantly issued a statement on her “official visit”, a downright violation of the China-US Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. She has also more than once called the Taiwan region a “country”. All her wrongdoings are clearly showing the world that it is the House Speaker that is intentionally trying to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait!
The US government’s connivance is doing the same thing. The US side called black white by claiming that “the change to the status quo that’s prevailed with regard to Taiwan for more than 40 years is coming from Beijing, not from the US ”, whereas in fact, it is the US that has broken its commitments in the three China-US joint communiqués and that’s been running unchecked on the road of obscuring, hollowing out, and distorting the one-China principle. The US has issued the so-called “New Guidelines for US Government Interactions with Taiwan Counterparts”, which considerably relaxed the restrictions on interactions between the US and Taiwan region, and acquiesced in US senior officials’ visit to the island. Reneging its commitment to “gradually reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution ”, the US side has continuously enhanced its arms sales to Taiwan in scale and performance, which now adds up to more than 70 billion US dollars, including arms deals worth over 1.1 billion US dollars under the current administration. While it claimed to have no intention to seek “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”, the US side has publicly helped Taiwan expand its so-called “international space”. All this duplicity in saying one thing and doing another is solid proof that it is the US side that’s deliberately trying to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait!
The US has also issued a so-called statement along with several other countries, in which they, while reiterating that “there is no change in the respective one China policies” and “basic positions on Taiwan”, suffixed the “one China policy” with “where applicable ”, adding yet another piece of evidence for America’s attempt to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait. In recent years, the US has left no stone unturned in obscuring, hollowing out, and distorting the “one China policy”, and modifying it with ever more descriptions and preconditions, including the so-called “Taiwan Relations Act” and the “Six Assurances ”. These unilateral steps and moves by the US have been firmly rejected by China from the very beginning. Washington putting its domestic law above international law, its disrespect for and trampling upon international law and basic norms in international relations, and its constant tricks and provocations all speak volumes of its intention to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait!
Confronted with the US side’s provocations to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and destructive collusions with the Taiwan authorities, China has no choice but to take countermeasures to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China’s series of countermeasures are firm, powerful and appropriate, and its military training exercises are open, transparent and professional in compliance with Chinese law, international law, and international conventions. They will effectively deter the provocateurs and perpetrators, strongly punish the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces and external forces of interference, and preserve peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. That’s what a responsible major country should do. The American side’s smearing of China’s legitimate, reasonable and justified countermeasures just exposes its true intention of changing the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
The historical ins and outs of the Taiwan question are crystal clear, and so are the facts and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. Upholding the one-China principle is the overarching guideline for keeping the Taiwan Strait peaceful and stable, and those who contravene this principle are the culprits responsible for the turmoil and turbulences across it. The US side should match its words with deeds, honor its commitment to not supporting “Taiwan independence” or seeking to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, and immediately stop any plot and ploy with regard to the one-China principle.
Editor's note: This article is originally published on people.com.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
