Last week, in disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations, Speaker of the U.S. 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-U.S. joint communiqués. It seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”. The visit has aroused strong indignation among the 1.4 billion Chinese people.

Taiwan has been an inalienable part of the Chinese territory since ancient times. As a legacy of the Chinese civil war in the 1940s and due to the interference by the external forces afterwards, the two sides across the Taiwan Strait have been mired in a special situation of prolonged political antagonism. Nevertheless, China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been divided, and the fact that the mainland and Taiwan belong to the one and same China has never changed.

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 the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. 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. Recently, more than 160 countries have spoken out, reaffirming their firm commitment to the one-China policy and underscoring their understanding and support of China’s legitimate position. UN Secretary-General António Guterres explicitly stressed that the UN remains committed to the UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, of which the centerpiece is the one-China principle. This is the unified voice of justice of the international community. 

Adhering to the one-China principle is the political foundation for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States. The United States made a clear commitment in the China-U.S. Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations in 1978 that “The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.” 

In recent years, the U.S. side has repeatedly violated the one-China commitment, stepped up its official exchanges with Taiwan, continued to increase arms sales to Taiwan, distorted, obscured and hollowed out the one-China principle and connived at “Taiwan independence” separatist activities. These moves damaged the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, and seriously violated China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Speaker Pelosi is the incumbent leader of the U.S. Congress, her visit to Taiwan, in whatever form and for whatever reason, constitutes a major political provocation to upgrade U.S. official exchanges with Taiwan, emboldening the “Taiwan independence” forces to go further along the dangerous path, and making the already tense situation across the Strait even more complicated.

The Taiwan question bears upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and is purely an internal affair of China. The Chinese government will show the utmost sincerity and make the utmost efforts to achieve the peaceful reunification of the whole country. The Chinese government and people resolutely oppose any kind of separatist moves toward “Taiwan independence”, and will never allow any room for Taiwan separatist forces in whatever form. Clinging to the U.S. to seek “independence”, or using Taiwan to contain China is only wishful thinking. It will by no means hold back the historical trend of Taiwan’s return to the motherland, nor can it stop the historical process toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Around 160 years ago, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln firmly believed that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” and led the American people in successfully safeguarding the unity of the U.S. at all costs. Just as the American people cherish the independence and unity of their country, to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity and achieve complete reunification of the motherland is the strong will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people, as well as the trend of the times and an inevitability of history. We hope and believe that the people from all walks of life in the consular districts can fully acknowledge the ins and outs, nature and status quo of the Taiwan question, fully understand and respect the aspirations and efforts of the Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and realize the complete unification of the motherland at an early date.