Recently, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi made a provocative visit to China’s Taiwan region in disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations. The visit was a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions in the three China-US joint Communiqués. It seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and had an enormous impact on peace in the region and stability across the Taiwan Strait. This political stunt staged by the US defied global rules and international order, opinion of the region, and international fairness and justice. It was another bankruptcy of US politics, diplomacy and credibility.
The US is the saboteur of international rules. The one-China principle is the consensus of the international community and one of the basic norms governing international relations. It constitutes part of the post-WWII world order, and is the political foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and countries in the world, including the US and ASEAN countries. At the heart of the one-China principle is that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government representing the entire China.
As a political figure second in line to succeed the US President, Pelosi’s provocative visit to the Taiwan region was an utterly erroneous action that upgraded US official exchanges with Taiwan. This flagrant provocation was a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions in the three China-US Joint Communiqués. It had a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. What the US has done has once again exposed its hypocrisy in championing and trumpeting the “rules-based international order”.
The US is the troublemaker for regional stability. The spirit of openness and cooperation and the concept of peaceful coexistence is the key to success for regional countries to safeguard peaceful situation and create miracles of development. In recent years, the US has been encircling China under the pretext of “shaping the strategic environment around China”. It created and started pushing the so-called “Indo-Pacific strategy”, pursuing closed group politics in the region. What is extremely dangerous is that the US has been continuously playing “the Taiwan card” and “the South China Sea card” to contain China, stirring up tensions and gravely undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and even in the whole region.
The necessary countermeasures taken by China are not only justified and lawful moves to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also conducive to maintaining regional peace and stability. Our measures are firm, strong and proportionate, and our military exercises are open, transparent and professional. They are consistent with domestic and international law and practice. They are aimed at sending a warning to the perpetrator and punishing “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.
On the contrary, if China did not firmly resist the manic, irresponsible and extremely irrational behavior of the US, then the principle of international relations on respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity will become a mere scrap of paper, various kinds of separatists and extremist forces will intensify their activities, and the hard-won peace and stability in the region will be severely damaged.
The US is the trampler of international fairness and justice. China’s position on safeguarding its sovereignty and the one-China principle is widely supported by the international community. To date, more than 170 countries and many international organizations, including many ASEAN countries, have spoken up for justice. The ASEAN foreign ministers released a statement on the cross-Strait development, reiterating their strong support for the one-China policy.
Facing the just voice of the international community, the US has not only refused to put aside its usual hegemonic mentality and bullying practices and take responsible action to alleviate the situation, but instead has continued shamelessly to employ subterfuge and even gather allies to make wild talks and confound black and white, shifting blames to smear and denigrate China.
We urge the US not to repeat its mistakes, truly return to observing the basic norms governing international relations, including respect for other countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiqués in both words and deeds, thus truly safeguarding peace in the region and stability across the Taiwan Strait. I would like to emphasize that China remains ready to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and efforts. But at the same time, China’s will and determination to realize the reunification of the nation are unshakable.
