Wednesday

22nd Mar 2023

Opinion

Supporting Taiwan 'like carrying water in a sieve'

  • Ambassador Cao Zhongming: 'China's full reunification is unstoppable. Attempts to support or connive at "Taiwan independence" through whatever means is like carrying water in a sieve — all in vain.' (Photo: Chinese embassy)
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On Tuesday (2 August), in disregard of China's strong opposition and serious representations, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, visited China's Taiwan region. 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 Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence".

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  • The disputed island of Taiwan, as seen from space by NASA (Photo: NASA/Wikimedia)

This is a retrogressive provocation and a reckless act of playing with fire. China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this.

In recent years, the United States has claimed that it is committed to the one-China policy, but action-wise, it has been backtracking.

It has gone against its commitment of only maintaining unofficial ties with the Taiwan region, upgraded its level of contact with Taiwan, increased arms sales to Taiwan, and connived at "Taiwan independence" separatist forces.

By doing so, the United States is attempting to use Taiwan to contain China. On the one hand, the United States claims about respecting all countries' sovereignty and territorial integrity. On the other, it has been distorting, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle and unscrupulously undermining China's core interests. This is sheer double standards and a shameful act of bad faith.

Who is actually instigating and emboldening the Taiwan authorities to keep changing the status quo, threatening stability across the Taiwan Strait? Who is actually playing with fraudulence and bullying, going against the aspiration of people in the Asia Pacific?

Pelosi's visit to China's Taiwan region has made it all the more clear that the United States has become the biggest destroyer of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and is the biggest destroyer of peace today.

The pursuit of peace, stability and development is a common aspiration of people all over the world.

In a world of change and disorder, the United States, as the top one country, ought to have upheld world peace and security and promoted global development and prosperity with concrete actions.

But it has failed its responsibilities as a major country.

Out of its selfish agenda, the United States has created turbulence and started conflicts with an aim of maintaining its global hegemony. The escalation of tension across the Taiwan Strait due to US provocation has brought a bitter fruit for peace and development in the region and the wider world, making things worse for the vulnerable world economic recovery.

There is but one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory.

It is the shared aspiration and firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China is willing to coexist peacefully and develop together with other countries. But we will never allow any country to undermine China's stability and development.

China's full reunification is unstoppable. Attempts to support or connive at "Taiwan independence" through whatever means is like carrying water in a sieve — all in vain.

Author bio

Cao Zhongming is ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Belgium

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author's, not those of EUobserver.

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