Commentary by Tang Yonghong*
The United States, with the help of the Taiwan authorities, is trying to hollow out the one-China principle. Among its attempts to do so are House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s reckless trip to the island on August 2 and that of some other politicians later in August.
These visits are part of the US’ strategy to interfere in China’s internal affairs, in order to check China’s rise. That Pelosi is the US’ third-highest ranking leader and visited the island ignoring Beijing’s serious warnings makes her action even more provocative. And the fact that the five US lawmakers undertook the trip despite Beijing holding live fire military drills around the island as a warning to both Washington and “pro-independence” forces on the island shows the US is hell-bent on ratcheting up tensions further, so as to strengthen its military presence in the region.
Yet neither the US leaders nor the Taiwan separatists will succeed in their design. In fact, the US’ moves will backfire.
The island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) may be happy to see Washington provoking Beijing, believing that that would help it resist reunification with the motherland and seek “Taiwan independence”. But the fact is, even though Taiwan is yet to be reunified with the motherland, the international community, authoritative global organizations such as the United Nations and most of the countries in the world, including the US, acknowledge that there is only one China, “the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China”, and Taiwan is an inalienable part China.
As a matter of fact, for years, until the Tsai Ing-wen administration took office in 2016, both sides of the Straits recognized the 1992 Consensus that there is only one China.
The Chinese mainland, which is committed to realizing national reunification, has been maintaining a delicate balance between the one-China principle and Taiwan’s need for communication with the outside world. For instance, the mainland doesn’t object to Taiwan conducting unofficial exchanges with overseas entities.
But now that the status quo across the Straits has been broken – first due to Tsai’s refusal to recognize the 1992 Consensus and then owing to the US’ malicious moves to facilitate “Taiwan independence” – the national reunification agenda has to be brought forward. Indeed, the Chinese leadership is likely to accelerate efforts to remove the stumbling blocks to national rejuvenation.
Sino-US relations are based on the one-China principle, with the Taiwan question being its most sensitive aspect. Only if it adheres to the one-China principle can the US expect bilateral ties to progress on the right track. These are also the salient features of the three joint Sino-US communiques.
But the US has changed its China policy in recent years, with the aim of curbing China’s rise and maintaining its global hegemony. It has changed its policy toward the island, too, and is encouraging the island’s separatists to seek “independence”.
Perhaps the US’ actions encouraged the DPP to refuse to recognize the 1992 Consensus and collude with overseas anti-China forces to resist national reunification. Also, the DPP authorities’ hostile policy toward the mainland and attempts to seek “Taiwan independence “have turned cross-Straits disputes, which are internal matters of China, into international issues and greatly impacted cross-Straits peace and stability.
Befittingly, therefore, the US has been severely criticized for violating the one-China principle and trampling international relations norms. For example, in response to Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Our position is very clear. We abide by General Assembly resolutions, by the one-China principle, and that is the orientation that we have in everything we do.”
More than 170 countries and key international organizations have backed China’s position on the Taiwan question and reaffirmed their adherence to the one-China principle. They have also condemned US interference in China’s internal affairs, which threatens to disturb peace and stability across the Straits and beyond. Even the Republic of Korea, an important ally of the US, did not fully back the US this time.
The US is challenging China’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, and seriously threatening its development. So China is justified in using economic, political and/or military means to thwart the plans of the US and its allies and partners.
*The author is deputy director of the Taiwan Research Center at Xiamen University.
