One-China principle allows no challenge

By Zhong Sheng

China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition toward the so-called “Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019” which was recently signed by Washington into law.

The U.S. practice seriously sabotaged the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, and severely violated the international law and the basic norms governing international relations. It also grossly interfered in China’s domestic affairs.

The “Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019” is an evil act that allows the U.S. government to enhance or cut economic, security and diplomatic relations with other countries in accordance with the latter’s relationship with Taiwan. It is nothing but a hegemonic threat that indulges the wrongdoings challenging the one-China principle.

The U.S. made huge hypes over the so-called “international space” of Taiwan when selling the act. However, it shall be solemnly pointed out that Taiwan’s “international space” is never something that can be defined by Washington. There’s only one China in the world, and adhering to the one-China policy is a recognized code for international relations and a consensus of the international society.

A total of 180 countries have established diplomatic relations with China. Even if the U.S. uses its hegemony to stop other sovereignty countries from developing normal international relations with China, the historic trend can not be reversed.

The Taiwan question touches upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and involves China’s core interests. The Chinese government reiterated that China has an unshakable will in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and no external intervention can change that.

The development of China-U.S. relations in the past 40 some years proved that the general stability of bilateral relations can not be achieved without certain political foundation. The Taiwan question has always remained a core and most sensitive issue in China-U.S. relations, and without the one-China principle, the foundation of the relationship will not stand solid.

If the U.S. keeps proceeding toward the wrong direction over the Taiwan question and seriously disrupts the general picture of bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation on major fields, it will finally damage its own interests. The U.S. has to take all responsibilities for the results of its practices.

Lately, some U.S. politicians have acted in an arrogant and unscrupulous manner on China-U.S. relations, and even challenged the bottom line.

At the recent Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers’ meeting on COVID-19, U.S. officials pushed to include language that stigmatizes China in the joint statement. Such act blatantly violated the international rules, and was opposed by even traditional allies of the U.S. An European diplomat told the media that what the U.S. suggested was a red line.

It proves that a just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust cause finds little. The international justice can never be defined by the U.S. for its private profits.

China and the U.S. are at a critical moment regarding their bilateral relations, and the U.S. should take concrete actions to improve the ties. In terms of the Taiwan question which decides the foundation of China-U.S. relations, the U.S. shall have a clear understanding – following the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. Joint Communiques, as well as removing obstacles impeding the China-U.S. relations that feature non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation.

To stabilize China-U.S. relations concerns the interests of both parties. Under the backdrop of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, both China and the U.S. should conform to the aspiration of the people, and cooperate with each other to overcome the current difficulties.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy.)