U.S. must honor its promise and act cautiously on Taiwan question

The U.S. needs to know that the Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference. No one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Recently, certain U.S. politicians have continuously hyped Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations and, in total disregard of facts, falsely accused China of threatening regional peace and stability.

Relevant remarks and acts of the U.S. have seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, breached its own promises, and betrayed the basic norms governing international relations.

By doing so, the U.S. side is sending gravely wrong signals to the “Taiwan independence” forces and pushing the China-U.S. relations toward confrontation.

While claiming that they uphold the one-China policy, certain U.S. politicians have tried to disguise their unreasonable challenge to the policy as a matter of values and a practical issue by distorting concepts and confusing the public.

Although these politicians have racked their brains to choose the words, they couldn’t change and conceal the nature of the problem and their true motives.

Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority has long been ridiculously clamoring for Taiwan’s so-called “representation” in international organizations and “international space,” which is, in essence, seeking “Taiwan independence.”

By backing up Taiwan in this regard, the U.S. side has sent gravely wrong signals to the “Taiwan independence” forces.

The participation of the Taiwan region in activities of international organizations must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle.

Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has solved once and for all the issue of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s representation in the UN in political, legal, and procedural terms. The system, agencies, and the Secretariat of the UN should abide by the one-China principle and UNGA Resolution 2758 when dealing with Taiwan-related affairs.

A total of 180 countries in the world, including the U.S., have established diplomatic relations with China based on the one-China principle. As a global consensus and one of the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations, the one-China principle allows no unilateral challenge or distortion by the U.S.

Fifty years ago, the attempt of the U.S. to create “one China, one Taiwan” or “two Chinas” at the UN failed. Today, the country is peddling the so-called “Taiwan’s participation in the UN system” again, trying to turn back the wheels of history. However, standing on the opposite side of the vast majority of countries globally, the U.S. is bound to face another failure.

The Taiwan question, which concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and other core interests, is the most critical and sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations. The one-China principle is the political foundation of China-U.S. relations.

The U.S. side has been clear about China’s firm stand on the Taiwan question and has made promises on the issue. In the three China-U.S. joint communiques, the U.S. unequivocally recognizes the Government of the PRC as the sole legal government of China, acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China and agrees that within this context, the people of the U.S. will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.

The U.S. government has repeatedly affirmed the position that it “doesn’t believe that Taiwan should be a member in any organization for which statehood is a requirement.” Recently, U.S. officials have also made clear that the U.S. side has no intention of changing the one-China policy and the current situation of the Taiwan Strait.

However, the reality is that the U.S. side frequently stirs up troubles in the Taiwan Strait. From intensifying official exchanges and military contacts with Taiwan and inciting certain countries to make provocations on the Taiwan question to frequently hyping the idea of “Taiwan’s participation in the UN system,” the U.S. has reneged on its promises.

China has made firm and necessary responses to the U.S. side’s wrongful remarks on the Taiwan question and relevant deeds.

At present, the policy adopted by the U.S. toward China has plunged China-U.S. relations into deep trouble. To lead the relations between the two countries back to the right track, the U.S. must make the right choices and adopt reasonable and practical China policy.

The Taiwan question is at the very core of China-U.S. relations. Should the U.S. side continue playing the “Taiwan card,” it would not only make barriers for the ease of tension between the two countries, but also inevitably pose seismic risks to China-U.S. relations, seriously undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and gravely harm the interests of the U.S. itself.

The trend of the world is surging forward. Those who follow the trend will prosper, and those who go against it will perish. To achieve complete national reunification is a trend of history and a common aspiration of all Chinese.

We firmly oppose the “Taiwan independence” and external intervention and will resolutely safeguard our national sovereignty and territorial integrity. We sternly warn the U.S. that it must keep its promises on the Taiwan question, proceed with caution, practically adhere to the one-China principle and the three joint communiques, and abide by UNGA Resolution 2758.

Besides, it must stop making irresponsible and erroneous remarks, stop helping Taiwan expand the so-called “international space,” avoid sending erroneous signals to “Taiwan independence” forces, and safeguard the political foundation of China-U.S. relations through concrete actions.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)