Compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same Chinese nation, ...the distance of the Strait cannot sever the bond of kinship between compatriots from across the Strait, ...the difference in systems does not alter the reality that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, said H.E. Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, when he met with Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing on April 10, 2024. But some countries never fail people with their old dirty tricks and repetitive false narratives, when it comes to the Taiwan question, especially when the “leader” of Taiwan region Lai Ching-te is going to “swear in” on Monday. Mark Lambert, the official in charge of China-US relations in the US State Department, distorted in broad daylight the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, the cornerstone of China’s lawful representation in the UN. The G7 Foreign Ministers made noises about Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization (WHO), an organization only for sovereign states. They go on interfering in the internal affairs of China with different highfalutin pretexts, and hardly show respect to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, deliberately distorting the facts and history, treading on international laws and the basic norms of international relations. Their favorite trick of power politics might prove effective in the old days, but Chinese people shall never let their attempts of “Taiwan card” succeed in separating Taiwan from China and containing China. The one-China principle has the extensive support of the international community. It is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. There’s no denying or stopping of that trend. The utmost majority of countries in the world choose to remain on the right side of the history, developing ties with China based on mutual respect, non-interference and the acknowledgement of the one-China principle——there is but one China in the world; Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory; the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Taiwan not Divided from the Territory of China The central governments of China have set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Penghu and Taiwan since ancient times. In the last decade of the 19th century, the then big powers aggressed China. During 1894 to 1895, Japan invaded China and colonized China’s Taiwan. During the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945) and World War II, the Cairo Declaration issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom stated that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. The Potsdam Proclamation, once again reiterated. “The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.” As Japan was defeated and promised that it would faithfully fulfill the obligations laid down in the Potsdam Proclamation, the Chinese government resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan in 1945. Later the Kuomintang (KMT) reactionaries flagrantly launched an all-out civil war. But the Communist Party of China(CPC) led soldiers and civilians gradually wiped out KMT troops, and overwhelmed the KMT government through the War of Liberation. On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded, becoming the successor to the Republic of China (1912-1949), and the Central People’s Government became the only legitimate government of the whole of China. The remnants of the KMT ruling group headed by Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan. As a result of the interference of external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have fallen into a state of protracted political confrontation. But the sovereignty and territory of China have never been divided and will never be divided, and Taiwan’s status as part of China’s territory has never changed and will never be allowed to change. One-China Principle an International Consensus At its 26th session in October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which undertook “to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. And to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it”. This resolution settled once and for all the political, legal and procedural issues of China's representation in the UN, and it covered the whole country, including Taiwan. It also spelled out that China has one single seat in the UN, precluding “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”. It is a political document encapsulating the one-China principle whose legal authority leaves no room for doubt and has been acknowledged worldwide. To date, 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on the basis of the one-China principle. The principle is an international consensus and norm. Any attempt to distort the one-China principle and resolution 2758, is confounding the black and white, regardless of truth. Taiwan belongs to all the Chinese people across the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests and concerns the sentiment of the 1.4 billion Chinese people. We, Chinese people, are firm in the resolve to safeguard our motherland’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The historic trend toward China’s reunification will not be stopped. The one-China principle is a red line and bottom line. The biggest risk to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait comes from “Taiwan independence”. China will never accept anyone making provocations on the Taiwan question and will resolutely fight back. The one-China principle is also a starting line and fortune line. All friends are always welcome to promote our cause of reunification and rejuvenation, which will contribute to a community of shared future for mankind. Today, China has grown into the world’s second largest economy. China is the major trading partner for over 140 countries and regions, opening up a brighter future for friendly cooperation and common prosperity. A reunited and prosperous China surely will help advance an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, and make new contributions to the development and progress of humanity. The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Rwanda.
