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Reunification of China Is Necessity of History: Commentary
Human history has entered the new century and the new millenium. How should the United States, the world's biggest developed country; and China, the world's largest developing country, make a correct positioning and choice in regard to the Taiwan issue, the most important and most sensitive core issue in Sino-US relations, not only affects the future of the two countries of China and the United Sates, but also has a bearing on the development of peace, stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region and the world as a whole, it has become a focus of the attention of the world people.
In the past few months, the repeated wrong actions in relation to the Taiwan issue taken by the US government in violation of the three Sino-US joint communiques have directly harmed China's national interests, constituting damage to the foundation of Sino-US relations.
The one-China principle is the foundation and prerequisite for peacefully solving the Taiwan issue. Any form of "Taiwan independence" is absolutely impermissible. Since the US government has clearly indicated that it will adhere to the one-China policy and will not support Taiwan independence, it should implement the one-China policy and abide by the three Sino-US joint communiques and its related commitments. Only by doing so will it be possible for the Taiwan issue to be properly solved and the Sino-US relations be effectively improved and developed.
"Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier" Is a Strategic DislocationTaiwan has been China's territory since ancient times. Although Taiwan had been invaded and occupied by imperialist countries in modern times, viewed from the angle of international law, however, Taiwan has always been an inalienable part of Chinese territory. On October 1, 1949, the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China was declared established, it replaced the government of the Republic of China to become the only legal government of the whole of China and the only legal representative in the international arena, the Republic of China has since ended its historical position. This was a political power substitute that occurred under the circumstance when no change took place in the mainstay of the same international law, China's sovereignty and inherent territory have not changed therefrom. The People's Republic of China fully enjoys and exercises China's sovereignty, including sovereignty over Taiwan.
At the time of the total collapse of the Chiang's dynasty in 1949, the US ambassador to China meaningfully remained in Nanjing and already had contacts with the Communist Party, at that time, Chairman Mao Zedong had the preparation for establishing diplomatic relations with the United States, the US State Department also held an experts round table conference on the Far Eastern issue, experts present at the conference almost all advocated recognizing New China. This should have been a historical opportunity for a favorable turn in Sino-US relations, but President Harry S. Truman did not accept the correct and penetrating views of the experts, thus quickly missing the good chance. Worse still, the United States then was involved in the Korean War and spread the flames of war to the banks of the Yalujiang River, attempting to strangle the newborn People's Republic of China in the cradle. The erroneous choice made by the US government not only resulted in missing the historical opportunity for a favorable turn in Sino-US relations, but also pushing China to the stand of being at war with the United States.
On August 28, 1950, Douglas MacAr'thur, commander-in-chief of the UN forces in the war of aggression against Korea, declared: "We use the arc-shape island chain, formed from the Aleutian Island to the Mariana Island held by us and our allies, to control the area from the Pacific Ocean to the coasts of Asia. If Taiwan falls into the hands of a country unfriendly to the United States, it will become a hostile convex angle that thrusts into the center of this defense circle." "Taiwan is an unsinkable aircraft carrier". That the United States gives Taiwan, a place not belonging to its own territory, such a high strategic position and excessively exaggerates Taiwan's role obviously is driven by the hegemonic mindset of taking a hand in Taiwan and interfering in China's internal affairs.
It was based on this erroneous choice that the US government, after the outbreak of the Korean War, changed from "abandoning Chiang" to "supporting Chiang". Then the US Seventh Fleet entered the Taiwan Straits and the 13th aviation squadron marched into and stationed in Taiwan, the US government also dished out, among others, the fallacy that "the status of Taiwan is still uncertain", and signed the 'joint defense treaty" with the Taiwan authorities, placing Taiwan under US military protection, resulting in the long-term military confrontation in the region of the Taiwan Straits.
In 1972, the historic handshakes between Chairman Mao Zedong and President Nixon broke the hard ice in Sino-US relations. The two sides jointly published the Shanghai Communique which led Sino-US relations to normalization. In January 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations, both sides jointly published the communique on the establishment of diplomatic ties, under which the United States recognizes the government of the People's Republic of China being the only legal government, there is only one China, Taiwan is part of China, solution of the Taiwan issue is a matter of the Chinese, which should be solved by the Chinese themselves. With regard to the Taiwan issue, the United States agreed to "sever diplomatic relations, annulling the treaty and withdrawing troops". In the August 17 Communique jointly published by China and the United States in 1982, the United States promised that US arms sales to Taiwan would be reduced on a yearly basis until the sales were completely stopped. However, before the ink in signing the communique on the establishment of diplomatic relations was dry, the United States passed the "Taiwan relations act". It is under its name that in the past nearly 20 years, the United States has sold high functional weapons worth more than US$38billion, which is rarely seen in the world in terms of the amount. Apparently, certain people in the United States have not yet got out of the queer circle of the Cold War mentality and still wrongly place Taiwan as "military outpost position".
Supporting "Taiwan Independence" Is Like Playing with FireWith the support of international anti-China forces, the "Taiwan independence" forces have intensified their activities to split the motherland and become more arrogant. .First, "apparent Taiwan independence", some politicians publicly advocate writing "Taiwan independence" into the "constitution' and attempt to achieve their aim of splitting the motherland by the method of referendum; second, "recessive Taiwan independence", which is actual independence without declaration, they profess that with neither declaring nor changing "Taiwan independence", but Taiwan had possessed "factual sovereignty" and "factual independence". These two types of "Taiwan independence" aim to achieve the same goal by different roads, both pose a challenge to the one-China principle.
The mindset of the United State on the question of "Taiwan independence" is very complicated: it does not want Taiwan to "create trouble" which proceeds to cause the situation to get out of control, nor does it want the Chinese mainland to "accelerate the process of reunification" for fear that it would weaken the United States' strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region; verbally it said it would "curb independence", but in actuality it paid more attention to "preventing reunification"; it both wants to dramatically enhance Taiwan authorities' military strength in order to raise the threshold against the Chinese mainland's use of force against Taiwan, and tries to avoid a fundamental reversal of the Sino-US relations and the emergence of direct confrontation; the administration both wants to use the Congress' pro-Taiwan anti-China move to put pressure on the Chinese mainland and tries to appropriately restrain the Congress from going too far.
Recently, there have emerged in the United States several actions that violate the principles of the three Sino-US joint communiques and challenging the one-China principle. For example, it permitted Chen Shuibian's "transit" visits to New York and Houston and his meeting with Congressmen, deliberately raising the level of official contacts between the United States and the region of Taiwan; it allowed the general representative of "Taiwan independence" forces Lee Teng-hui to visit the United States; the US Congress, ignoring China's opposition, passed a bill supporting accession of Taiwan to the World Health Organization (WHO); the State Department authorized bill passed by the US House of Representatives also include contents supporting Taiwan; the United States has achieved several breakthroughs in its arms sales to Taiwan, among the weapons worth US$4 billion, include offensive weapons of high properties. This is the first time ever in the past 20 years and quantitatively, it is the largest military deal since 1992.
The United States' challenge to the one-China principle is challenge to China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and to China's fundamental national interest. On this question, there is no room for any compromise to be made by China, nor will China balk at the greatest national sacrifice. The US provocation in this respect is very dangerous. Just as a staff worker with the representative office of the Rand Corporation in Washington said: Showing off its relations with Taiwan and displeasing China is disadvantageous to US-China relations and is harmful to the cross-Strait relations. If the United States slides farther and farther down the road of recognizing Taiwan and giving up the one-China policy, it will commit a historical mistake.
The series of moves taken by the United States on the Taiwan issue, in essence, put Taiwan in a dangerous place. Shao Yu-ming, former deputy secretary-general of the Kuomintang Central Committee, said the US-Taiwan relations should not be based on its being the "outpost of the US armed forces". He said: "we cannot bear the consequence of being involved in this struggle. We are too weak and small". Seen whether from the angle of history, culture or geography, or from the angle of political and economic realities, Taiwan's future lies on the mainland of the motherland, Taiwan's security depends on the close ties of the people between the two sides of the Straits and the ultimate peaceful reunification.
In fact, choice of "Taiwan independence" is choice of war. The "Taiwan independence" forces represented by Lee Teng-hui attempt to "reject reunification by force and seek independence by force" through strengthening armaments, this will drag the Taiwan Straits into war. It is known to all, if "Taiwan independence" elements openly proclaim "independence of Taiwan", the Chinese government will be forced to resort to armed force to solve the Taiwan issue. Once war breaks out on the Taiwan Straits, the US government will face two difficult choices: either "disgracefully beating a retreat"; or "fighting with China a war with tragic end. As a report of the United States' ATO Institute points out that defending Taiwan is not a major US security interest, the saying about assisting Taiwan's defense with all-out efforts has created an extremely dangerous situation for the United States.
James Kelly , US assistant secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, pointed out in his testimony on June 12 that East Asian and the Pacific region is a place with tremendous economic opportunity. The United States has huge trade and economic interest in this place. The volume of two-way trade has reached US$500 billion, accounting for over one-third of US total trade volume. Once the United States is involved in the conflicts in the Taiwan Straits, although which, to some extent, can promote US arms sale, the United States, however, will lose greater economic benefits in China and even the East Asian region.
Conducting direct confrontation with China does not conform to US security interest in the Asia-Pacific region. Historically, the United States had experienced two direct confrontations with China in Asia, the result of which is well known. In observers' opinion, the Taiwan issue concerns China's core national interest, and is not the core national interest of the United States, there is no need for the United States to draw fire upon itself for the issue of Taiwan. Just as former assistant defense secretary Joseph Nye said in his speech delivered in Taiwan on July 6 that if Taiwan proclaims independence and thus leads to the CPC's dispatch of troops to Taiwan, the United States will not venture to get involved in the war. The choice of being involved in the conflict in the Taiwan Straits will receive neither the understanding of domestic general public, nor the support from Asian-Pacific countries.
Reunification of China Is the General TrendSince the two sides of the Straits broke the state of isolation in 1987, cross-Strait non-governmental exchanges have become an irresistible trend. The number of Taiwan compatriots coming to the mainland of the motherland for visiting relatives, tour and exchange has approached 20 million people on a turnstile count; the total volume of indirect trade between the two sides has topped US$190 billion, the contracted volume of Taiwan businessmen's investment in the mainland and the actual volume in place respectively exceeded US$45 billion and US$24 billion. In 1992, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) of the mainland and Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) of Taiwan reached the consensus respectively expressing by words of mouth "the two sides of the Straits both uphold the one-China principle", and on this basis, the Wang (Daohan)-Koo (Chen-fu) talks were successfully held in 1993. In 1998, the Shanghai meeting of leaders of the two organizations opened political dialogs between the two sides. Reunification is the necessity of the development of cross-Strait relations.
The Chinese nation has multiplied on this land of China, the mutual integration of various ethnic groups has a strong cohesive force and has formed the concept of value featuring the advocacy and safeguards of reunification. Under the influence of the 5,000-year history and splendid culture, a strong national consciousness has taken deep root in the hearts of the Chinese people: the country must be reunified. Any individuals and political groups who safeguard China's unification and territorial integrity will receive support and praises from the people, and their names will go down in the annals of history; any individuals and political groups who create the division of China and betray the motherland's territorial integrity will be spurned by the people and leave bad names for thousands of years. It is a matter of course for the Chinese government to uphold the unification of the motherland, don't expect that the Chinese government would yield half inch on this question, don't underestimate the determination, will and strength of the Chinese government and the Chinese people to accomplish the complete reunification of the motherland.
It should be pointed out that the three Sino-US joint communiques have established a principled foundation for correctly handling the Taiwan issue. Certain Americans regard Taiwan as a piece in chess game for "containing" China, while the Taiwan authorities strengthen themselves by depending on foreigners, serving themselves willingly as a chess with which to cope with the mainland of the motherland. This is actually an unworkable move as a dead piece in a chess game. Far-sighed American personages have sober views about this. Thomas Bickford said: the United States' China policy should not be driven by Taiwan's internal political development, nor should it be influenced by disputes over US domestic ideology. It will be wrong to adopt a strategy of containing China. China is not a country wanting to reshape Asia by force. Taiwan's strategic concept originally assumed that it could use its overwhelming economic superiority to achieve armament superiority over the mainland, so as to make it impossible for the mainland to attack Taiwan across the sea. At present, the entire strategic concept of Taiwan is being emptied. To tell the truth, the reason why the United States is so deeply involved in the Taiwan issue is that it has made inappropriate delineation and extension of its strategic interest. The wrong delineation formed during the Cold War period should be resolutely thrown away after the Cold War. China's eventual peaceful reunification will bring greater security and greater peace to the Asia-Pacific region. The reunification of Taiwan with the mainland of China is the general trend and popular feelings which no force on earth can resist.
This commentary, written by Gu Ping on the Taiwan issue in Sino-American relations, is published on Page 3 of People's Daily on July 23.
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