https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1239146.shtmlXi warns US over support for Taiwan secessionism, ‘Whoever plays with fire will get burnt’
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Published: Nov 16, 2021 11:53 PM Updated: Nov 17, 2021 12:50 AM Chinese
President Xi Jinping meets with US President Joe Biden via video link,
in Beijing, capital of China, on November 16, 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Chinese
President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday at a virtual meeting with US
President Joe Biden that China will be compelled to take resolute
measures, should the separatist forces for "Taiwan independence"
"provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line," and he also
warned that the intention of some Americans to use Taiwan to contain
China is "just like playing with fire" and that "whoever plays with fire
will get burnt."
This
is the first time China's top leader has sent such a tough, resolute
and direct warning to the US via the virtual meeting on the Taiwan
question since the latest tension in the region sparked by a series of
provocations from the Taiwan separatist authority toward the Chinese
mainland, as well as increasing interactions between the US and the
island in recent years.
Some
low-level officials of the Biden administration have also been
scheduled to attend two talks with the island of Taiwan on Tuesday and
Wednesday, and this just proves that the US stance on the Taiwan
question will not see any substantial change, but experts said these
little tricks with no concrete effects are actually for the US to pacify
nervous Taiwan secessionists.
Experts
said the mainland will strengthen its countermeasures to respond to any
new provocation from the US and attempts from the US and secessionist
attempt from the Taiwan authorities, as Washington is unlikely to stop
using Taiwan card to contain China and will continue its duplicity
policy.
Warning sentXi
noted the new wave of tensions across the Taiwan Straits and ascribed
the tensions to the repeated attempts by Taiwan authorities to seek US
support for their "independence" agenda as well as the intention of some
Americans to use Taiwan to contain China. "Such moves are extremely
dangerous, just like playing with fire," Xi said. "Whoever plays with
fire will get burnt."
The
one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués are the
political foundation of China-US relations, Xi said, noting that
previous US administrations have all made clear commitments on this.
The
true status quo of the Taiwan question and what lies at the heart of
one China, Xi pointed out, are as follows: There is but one China in the
world and Taiwan is part of China, and the Government of the People's
Republic of China is the sole lawful government representing China.
During
the meeting, Xi expressed a clear and strong determination for national
reunification to Biden, and drew a clear red line to the US on the
Taiwan question.
Calling
achieving China's complete reunification an aspiration shared by all
sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, Xi said, "We have patience and
will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with utmost
sincerity and efforts." But if "the separatist forces for 'Taiwan
independence' provoke us, force our hands or even cross the red line, we
will be compelled to take resolute measures," Xi warned.
Li
Fei, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University,
said that Xi's remarks have sent both Taiwan and the US a "head-on"
warning that if the US pushed the "pawn" of the Taiwan separatist
authority "over the red line on the chessboard" to exert impact on
China's peaceful development, then the Chinese mainland will be forced
to solve the Taiwan question once and for all by all means at any cost.
The
Xi-Biden meeting has brought great impact to the island of Taiwan and
the Taiwan secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority
remains provocative and sticks to its secessionist stance to resist the
shared aspiration of the Chinese nation on China's complete
reunification.
Not naiveBiden,
at the meeting, reaffirmed "the US government's long-standing one-China
policy," and stated that the US does not support "Taiwan independence"
and expressed that peace and stability should be maintained in the
Taiwan Straits.
Biden
reiterated that the US has no intention to enter into conflict with
China, that the US does not seek to change China's system, and the
revitalization of its alliances is not anti-China, according to Xinhua.
However,
in the readout on the meeting published by the White House, "Biden's
opposition to Taiwan secessionism" was not mentioned, "so this means the
Biden administration is deliberately softening its tone to cater for US
domestic hostility against China," Li said.
Chinese
analysts said the US' credibility is low as always on the question as
it sells weapons and sends vessels and military aircraft to the region.
It encourages secessionists on the island politically on one hand and
keeps saying the US will insist on the so-called "one-China policy" to
the Chinese mainland on the other hand.
Shao
Zong-hai, a former Taiwan politician and member of the Kuomintang (KMT)
opposition party and a scholar on cross-Straits relations, told the
Global Times that "Biden's commitment to the one-China policy" should
not be seen as a "change of attitude," and that China should be cautious
of such vague terminology.
China
will not be naive to trust that the tension would ease immediately just
because of one meeting, and China is fully aware that the US'
"one-China policy," which combines the three China-US communiqués and
under-the-table promises to the Taiwan authorities as well as US
domestic "law" that offends China's sovereignty, is not the same as the
one-China principle that is widely recognized among the international
community, experts noted.
So
it will keep strengthening its preparation for the worst scenario and
will retaliate against new provocations from Washington, because China
understands that strength and determination are key to solving the
Taiwan question, rather than believing in US "commitment," said mainland
analysts.
Chang
Ya-chung, a Taipei-based political scientist and member of the KMT told
the Global Times on Tuesday that the secessionist DPP authority may be
disappointed now as "Beijing and Washington are trying to slam the
brakes on the Taiwan question," because the DPP prefers tense China-US
ties.
Although
the US will not stop using the island to contain China, neither does
Washington want the situation to spiral out of control. The Biden
administration needs China to offer cooperation on trade, economy,
climate change and other global issues to help it save its declining
approval ratings, therefore the US might choose to be less provocative
after the meeting, said some experts.
Li
Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the
China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that
secessionists on the island will be worried and nervous after the
Xi-Biden meeting, because they know they are just "pawns on the
chessboard" which could be abandoned or sold when the US believes it is
necessary to do so.
To
offset such positive signals about easing China-US tension, the Taiwan
DPP authority will try to use recent or upcoming interactions with the
US to hype the so-called US "commitment to protect" the island and
"friendship" with secessionists, Chang noted.
Taiwan
local media reported that so-called "Political-Military Talks" and
"Defense Review Talks" will be held in Washington from Tuesday to
Wednesday. It will be attended by Jessica Lewis, Assistant Secretary of
State for the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, and others.
The
DPP secessionists will be encouraged by these events, and use them to
cheat their supporters by hyping ties with the US, but in fact, the
level of US officials participating in the talks is actually very low,
so this means Washington wants to keep a low profile to avoid
infuriating the mainland just after the Xi-Biden meeting, and pacify its
puppets or proxies on the island at the same time, said experts.
Zhu
Fenglian, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State
Council, said on Tuesday that "we warned the DPP authority that we will
be forced to take resolute measures to counter any attempt to separate
the country, any provocation and any behavior that crosses the red
line."