On 2 August, in disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region, which attracting great attention of the international community, including the people of Dutch Caribbean.
1. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This has been clearly recognized by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations.
2. In 1979, the United States made a clear commitment in the China-US Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations – “The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.” Congress, as a part of the US Government, is inherently obliged to strictly observe the one-China policy of the US Government and refrain from having any official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region.
China is all along opposed to the visit to Taiwan by US congressional members, and the US executive branch has the responsibility to stop such visit. Since Speaker Pelosi is the incumbent leader of the US Congress, her visit to and activities in Taiwan, in whatever form and for whatever reason, is a major political provocation to upgrade US official exchanges with Taiwan. This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiqués. It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-US relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Ministry of National Defense, The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, The Taiwan work Office of the CPC Central Committee have all firmly opposes and sternly condemns this through statements and remarks, and has made serious démarche and strong protest to the United States.
3. The position of the Chinese Government and people on the Taiwan question has been consistent. It is the firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese sons and daughters to realize the complete reunification of the motherland. The trend of the times cannot be reversed, and the will of the people is not to be defied. China must and will be reunified, this is an unstoppable trend of history. No country, no forces and no individual should ever misestimate the firm resolve, strong will and great capability of the Chinese Government and people to defend state sovereignty and territorial integrity and to achieve national reunification and rejuvenation.
4. Following the visit by Speaker Pelosi to the Taiwan region, within less than a day, people of different ranks and backgrounds from more than 100 countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, have spoken up in various ways to condemn her wrong, foolish and insane decision and express their support for the one-China principle and for China’s legitimate efforts to uphold its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The fact that so many have spoken up for justice is a clear indication that people in the international community are clear-eyed about the nature and intention of the visit. The visit is an ugly political stunt. It will not change the historical and legal reality that Taiwan belongs to China. It will not stop the reunification course of China and will not change the fact that 181 countries in the world recognize and support the one-China principle.
5. China and the United States are two major countries. The right way for them to deal with each other lies only in mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, no-confrontation and win-win cooperation. The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China, and no other country is entitled to act as a judge on the Taiwan question. We urge the U.S. side to honor its words, cease any kind of official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, stop sending any wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, and not to go further down the dangerous path. Any erroneous act that goes against the historical trend, aims to make an issue out of the Taiwan question and undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is doomed to fail, and will boomerang in the end.
Li Yigang
Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Willemstad
