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ARTICLE AD BOX
The Chinese government is firmly opposed to interference by external forces. We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification.
By XIAO JUNZHENG DECEMBER 29, 2024 04:06
CHINESE PRESIDENT Xi Jinping walks with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, in Woodside, California, last year. The matter of Taiwan must be resolved by the Chinese; the Chinese government is firmly opposed to interference by external forces.
(photo credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/REUTERS)
Many Israelis are extremely concerned about the situation in the Taiwan Strait and want to know the history of the Taiwan question and China’s position on it. As the Chinese ambassador to Israel, I would like to explain the facts to my Israeli friends so they can understand and support the one-China principle and appreciate China’s efforts to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory
From the perspective of history, the earliest record of Taiwan dates back to the Three Kingdoms period in 230 CE. Since 1335, the imperial central governments of China all set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Penghu and Taiwan. In 1684, a Taiwan prefecture administration was set up by the Qing government. In 1885, Taiwan’s status was upgraded, and it became the 20th province of China. In 1895, Japan forced the Qing government to cede Taiwan after Japan’s war of aggression against China.
In 1943, the Cairo Declaration clearly stipulated that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, including Taiwan, should be restored. The Potsdam Proclamation of 1945 reiterated that “The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.” On October 25, 1945, the Chinese government announced that it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan and that China had recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded, replacing the Republic of China, and the Central People’s Government became the sole legal government of the whole of China.
As a result of the civil war in China and the interference of external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have fallen into a state-protracted political confrontation. But the sovereignty and territory of China has 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
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.”
The United Nations system has always followed General Assembly resolution 2758 and upheld the one-China principle in dealing with Taiwan-related issues. The one-China principle has also become a prevailing international consensus and basic norm in international relations, forming an inherent component of the post-war international order. One hundred and eighty-three countries, including Israel, have established diplomatic ties with China based on the one-China principle.
The China-Israel Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations clearly states that “the Government of the State of Israel recognizes that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.” This fully demonstrates that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends.
Roots of tension in the Taiwan Strait
The essence of the status quo in the Taiwan Strait is a major principled issue of whether national sovereignty and territorial integrity should be safeguarded and whether the principle of non-interference in internal affairs in international law should be observed.
At present, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan are adhering to the separatist position of “Taiwan independence” and are constantly provocative in pursuit of “independence” in collusion with external forces, leading to tensions in cross-Strait relations, jeopardizing peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and squeezing the space for peaceful cross-Strait reunification.
Still lost in delusions of hegemony and trapped in a Cold War mindset, external forces, such as the United States, insist on perceiving and portraying China as a major strategic adversary and a serious long-term threat. They do their utmost to undermine and pressure China, exploiting Taiwan as a convenient tool, which is the fundamental reason for the continued tension in the Taiwan Strait.
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The Taiwan question is a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. The Chinese government is firmly opposed to interference by external forces. We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification, but we will never accept interference in China’s internal affairs by anyone or any force under the guise of peace. Any attempt by anyone to meddle in the Taiwan question under any pretext is doomed to failure.
Resolution of the Taiwan question
Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation. It is indispensable for the realization of China’s rejuvenation. In order to take full account of Taiwan’s realities and safeguard the interests and well-being of our compatriots there, the Chinese government introduced the creative and well-conceived concept of “One Country, Two Systems,” and has adopted “Peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems” as the basic principles for resolving the Taiwan question.
It is underpinned by three guidelines. First, we will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort but make no promise to renounce the use of force.
Second, we advocate consultations and negotiations between the two sides of the Strait under the one-China principle and in accordance with the 1992 Consensus reflecting the one-China principle.
Third, we will actively explore a “Two Systems” solution to the Taiwan question under the one-China principle, thus enriching the practice of peaceful reunification.
We face each other just across a strip of water, but we are still far apart. The fact that we have not yet been reunified is a scar left by history on the Chinese nation.
As President Xi Jinping remarked, the Taiwan question arose as a result of weakness and chaos in our nation, and it will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality. The Chinese government will continue to promote the peaceful and integrated development of cross-strait relations through practical actions, resolutely smashing the attempts of “Taiwan independence” and external interference, and uniting compatriots in Taiwan to jointly seek national reunification.
We hope the international community, including Israel, will be vigilant and resist the separatist forces of “Taiwan independence” who are trying to disrupt the situation in the Taiwan Strait and create division and confrontation, abide by the one-China principle, handle Taiwan-related issues appropriately, and understand and support the Chinese people’s just cause of opposing the secession for “Taiwan independence” and striving for national reunification.
The writer is ambassador of The People’s Republic of China to the State of Israel.
English (US) ·