"One China" Policy, an International Trend

Lee Teng-hui's remarks of defining the cross-Straits relations as "state-to-state" relations has aroused not only great indignation from the Chinese people in and out of China, but also led to widespread criticism from the world public opinion, says a "People's Daily" article published on July 28.

The international communities have pledged their firm support to the "one China" principle over the past days, frustrating Lee Teng-hui's attempt of creating "two Chinas", "one China, one Taiwan" or "independence of Taiwan."
Lee has played a role of provoking incidents and undermining the stable relations between both sides of the Taiwan Straits, it says.

Explaining why Lee Teng-hui has stripped off his mask to preach the "state-to-state relations", the article says, "he thinks the current international situation provides an opportunity for his splittist activities."

In recent months, the U.S.-led NATO interfered in the internal affairs of Yugoslavia with the excuse of "human rights is superior to sovereignty" and attacked the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. Taiwan intended to force its way in the TMD system initiated by the United States, erecting a barrier on the development of Sino-U. S. relations, it says.

Consequently, Lee has made his own wishful thinking that the anti-China forces in the world would openly support his splittist acts. However, the international situation runs counter to his wish. His adventurous acts were based on his subjective desire, the article notes.

United States President Bill Clinton reaffirmed his position of not supporting Taiwan independence, not supporting "one China, one Taiwan," and not supporting Taiwan's access into any international organizations that only admit sovereign state during his visit to China last year. He also reiterated the U.S. government's "strong commitment" to adhering to its "one China" policy on the Taiwan issue in a recent phone conversation with Chinese President Jiang Zemin.

Russia is committed to not selling arms to Taiwan. Japan has also reiterated its "one China" policy and promised not to support an "independent Taiwan". These instances demonstrate that the "one China" policy has gained widespread recognition from the international community, the article says.

Since Lee dished out his "state-to-state relations" statement, countries including the United States, Japan, Russia, and the European Union all made immediate responses supporting the "one China" policy.

Several countries in the Asian-Pacific Region reaffirmed that Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory and that the Taiwan issue is an internal affair of China.

Public opinion in Taiwan showed that Lee's "state-to-state" theory produced an unexpected negative effect, and caused Taiwan authorities to become even more isolated in the world.

Some scholars have described Lee as a "political hyper-active child." A child who suffers from hyper-activity does no harm to others. But a political "hyper-active child" can bring disaster to the people of Taiwan by damaging across-straits relations, the article says.

Though Taiwan is still separated from the motherland, its status as part of China has not changed, nor has China's sovereignty over Taiwan. This is a generally acknowledged fact accepted by the United Nations and the majority of countries, the article concludes.