Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) - In
response to the remarks of U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken, Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying refuted them at a regular press
conference on the afternoon of Aug. 2, reiterating China's
strict position against the proposed visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi to Taiwan.
A reporter asked: Blinken said at the NPT Review
Conference that the U.S. Congress is an independent and equal government
agency, and there is a precedent for the U.S. Speaker of the House to
visit Taiwan; if Pelosi decides to visit Taiwan
and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise increase
tensions, the responsibility will fall squarely on Beijing. What is
China's response to this?
"The whole world can see very clearly that it is the
United States that has taken provocative actions that have led to the
escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait, and the United States
should and must take full responsibility for that."
Hua Chunying said, "Blinken's relevant remarks reversed black and white
and once again profoundly demonstrated the hegemonic mentality and
robber baron logic of some people in the United States, which is: I can
provoke you recklessly, but you cannot oppose
or defend yourself."
Hua Chunying said that China has recently repeatedly
stated its stern position in Beijing and Washington through multiple
channels and at various levels that it opposes the proposed visit to
Taiwan by the U.S. Speaker of the House. She would
like to take this opportunity to reiterate a few more points.
First, all agencies of the U.S. government, including
the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, should implement the
foreign policy recognized and committed to by the U.S. government. In
the communiqué establishing diplomatic relations
between the United States and China, the U.S. government clearly
committed itself to "the recognition by the United States of America of
the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate
government of China. To that extent, the people
of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other
unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan." The U.S. Congress, as
an integral part of the U.S. Government, is expected to strictly adhere
to the foreign policy recognized and committed
to by the U.S. Government. It is in no way an unofficial act for the
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, as the number three person
in the U.S. government, to visit Taiwan on a U.S. military aircraft.
Second, the past erroneous actions of individual U.S.
politicians should not constitute a precedent, let alone an excuse for
the U.S. side to add to its mistakes on the Taiwan issue.
Third, the one-China principle is a recognized basic
norm of international relations and a universal consensus of the
international community. It is on the basis of the one-China principle
that China has established diplomatic relations with
181 countries, including the United States. The U.S. side has made
solemn commitments to China on the one-China principle in the three
U.S.-China joint communiqués.
Hua Chunying said that in recent years, the U.S. side
has verbally claimed to adhere to the one-China policy, but has
continuously backtracked in its actions, even deflating and hollowing
out the one-China principle. "It has also reneged on
its commitment to maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan only,
continuously raised the level of U.S.-Taiwan contacts, and continued to
increase arms sales to Taiwan. In this regard, many knowledgeable people
within the United States and internationally
have seen this very clearly and have repeatedly pointed out the dangers
of the U.S. side's actions.
She said that at this year's World Economic Forum in
Davos, former U.S. Secretary of State Kissinger made it clear that "the
agreement that I understand was reached when China and the United States
established diplomatic relations was that
the United States would adhere to the one-China principle. Adherence to
the one-China principle is critical. The United States should not use
deceptive means or incremental approaches to promote the 'two Chinas'
proposal." After the recent news about the U.S.
Speaker of the House of Representatives' proposed visit to Taiwan came
out, many people, including the U.S. mainstream media, think tanks, and
former dignitaries from some U.S. ally countries, also said publicly
that Pelosi's visit to Taiwan for whatever reason
would be foolish, dangerous and unnecessary, a dangerous gamble, and it
is hard to imagine a more reckless and provocative action; if the U.S.
side misjudges or mishandles the cross-strait situation, it will cause
damage to Taiwan and even If the U.S. side
misjudges or mishandles the cross-strait situation, it will have
disastrous consequences for the security, prosperity and order of Taiwan
and the world.
Fourth, out of its strategy of "using Taiwan to control
China," the U.S. side has supported and condoned the "Taiwan
independence" separatist forces to continuously and deliberately provoke
China on the Taiwan issue, pushing China's red line
and bottom line every step of the way. The U.S. and Taiwan colluded to
provoke in the first place, and China defended itself in the second. In
the face of the U.S. side's recklessness in spite of China's repeated
and serious representations, any countermeasures
taken by the Chinese side will be justified and necessary. This is also
the right of any independent sovereign state. What's more, China is a
large country with a history of 5,000 years and a population of more
than 1.4 billion. In this regard, I hope the
U.S. side has a very clear understanding.
Fifth, the history of the Taiwan issue is clear, and
the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same China
and the status quo is clear. We firmly oppose the secession of "Taiwan
independence" and interference by external forces,
and will never leave any space for any form of "Taiwan independence"
forces. The position of the Chinese government and the Chinese people on
the Taiwan issue has been consistent, and it is the firm will of more
than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely
safeguard China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.
"The U.S. side should abandon any attempts to play the
'Taiwan card' and adhere to the one-China principle and fulfill the
three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués in a consistent and uncompromising
manner in word and deed." Hua Chunying said, "If
the U.S. side is bent on going its own way, all serious consequences
caused by this will be the responsibility of the U.S. side."