US doomed to fail in playing ‘Taiwan card’ to contain China

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent clamor for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation throughout the United Nations system” has severely violated the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, breaking the previous promises Washington has made and constituting a gross breach of international norms. It also sent a wrong signal to the separatist forces of “Taiwan independence” on the island and exposed the Cold War mentality of the US along with its sinister scheming to use Taiwan as a means to contain China.

There is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. A total of 180 countries, including the US, have established diplomatic ties with China on the basis of adhering to the one-China principle. This principle has formed into a global consensus and is one of the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations, brooking no provocation and distortion.

The UN is an inter-governmental organization composed of sovereign states, and Taiwan, as part of China, is not qualified to join the UN. In regards to issues such as Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, it has always remained a clear and consistent position that such issues should be handled in line with the one-China principle. Five decades ago, the 26th Session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which resolved the issue of China’s UN representation in political, legal and procedural terms once and for all. UN mechanisms, specialized agencies and the UN Secretariat must uphold the one-China policy and Resolution 2758 in handling issues related to Taiwan.

Certain US politicians have claimed that they support the one-China principle and oppose “Taiwan independence,” and yet on the other hand, they have meanwhile touted and whitewashed Taiwan’s so-called democracy and contributions, while at the same time throwing their support behind Taiwan, engaging in sophistry and misleading public opinion. Having unreasonably challenged the one-China principle by misconstruing it as an issue about “values”, the conduct and deeds of these US politicians regarding Taiwan represents nothing more than an attempt to contain the development of China by playing the “Taiwan card”.

The Taiwan authorities have obstinately stuck to the “Taiwan independence” separatist position, refusing to recognize the 1992 Consensus and going all out to expand its so-called “international space”, going further down the separatist path of “Taiwan independence”. This has posed the greatest real threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and is the fundamental reason why Taiwan has not been able to participate in the activities of multilateral organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). While making unreasonable remarks in reference to Taiwan’s “representation” and “international space”, the Taiwan authorities in fact are actually steering the island towards independence.

Recently, in a blatant affront to the one-China principle, some US politicians have made use of every possible occasion to hype up the Taiwan question in helping Taiwan take part in UN activities and in supporting the expansion of its “international space”. The essence of such acts is to create “one China, one Taiwan”, brazenly challenging the one-China principle. Fifty years ago, the US failed in its attempt to create “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan” at the UN. If the US continues to backpedal, it will find itself standing on the opposite side of 1.4 billion Chinese people and the overwhelming majority of countries around the world, a course that is bound to fail.

The Taiwan question is a matter that belongs to China’s domestic affairs and allows for no external interference. No one should underestimate the strong determination, will and capacity of the Chinese people when it comes to safeguarding the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. For some time now, the US has continued to err in both word and deed over the Taiwan question, with China having remained resolute in responding as necessary. If the US continues to play the “Taiwan card”, it will inevitably pose enormous risks to China-US relations, seriously undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and seriously harming the interests of the US itself.

China urges the US side to honor its commitments, including earnestly following the one-China principle and abiding by the three China-US joint communiques as well as Resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly. The US must refrain from making irresponsible and erroneous remarks, stop helping Taiwan to expand its so-called “international space,” avoid sending erroneous signals to the forces of “Taiwan independence”, and safeguard the political foundations of China-US relations through concrete actions.