China Daily:

Recently, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have been preaching the idea that the two sides across the Strait should not be subordinate to each other. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle. Considering current cross-Strait relations, how do you understand the nature of the Taiwan question and interpret the one-China principle?

Qiu Kaiming:

Good morning, everyone. I'll take this question. The current situation across the Taiwan Strait remains severe and complex due to the island's DPP authorities colluding with some forces in the U.S. to seek the independence of the island. Meanwhile, some forces in the U.S., motivated by a hegemonic mindset and a Cold War mentality, have intensified their efforts to use Taiwan to contain the development of the mainland. The DPP authorities have promoted the idea that the two sides across the Strait should not be subordinate to each other. Meanwhile, the U.S. has been obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle for its own political gain. Such moves attempt to distort the nature of the Taiwan question and deny the one-China principle.

Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times. This statement has a sound basis in history and jurisprudence. Many historical records and annals document the development of Taiwan by the Chinese people in earlier periods. They also demonstrate that since the middle of the 12th century, the imperial central governments of China all set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Penghu and Taiwan.

The emergence and evolution of the Taiwan question have been inextricably interwoven with the history of the Chinese nation since China entered modern times. Following the Opium War starting in 1840, China suffered an invasion by Western powers and was plunged into the darkness of domestic turmoil and foreign aggression. Its people, ravaged by war, saw their homeland torn apart. Taiwan was under foreign occupation for half a century. The Cairo Declaration issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom in 1943 stated that it was the purpose of the three allies that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, including Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. The Potsdam Proclamation signed in 1945 reiterated: The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out. In 1945, the Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, fought bloody battles with unyielding determination and won the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. Taiwan was thus recovered and returned to the motherland.

On October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, becoming the successor to the Republic of China, and the Central People's Government became the only legitimate government of the whole of China. The new government replaced the previous KMT regime in a situation where China, as a subject under international law, did not change and China's sovereignty and inherent territory did not change. As a natural result, the government of the PRC should enjoy and exercise China's full sovereignty, which includes its sovereignty over Taiwan. As a result of the civil war and the interference of external forces, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have fallen into a state of protracted political confrontation.

At its 26th session in October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which undertook to restore all the 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. 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, so there is no such thing as two Chinas or one China, one Taiwan. The United Nations and its specialized agencies all follow the one-China principle in dealing with questions concerning Taiwan. To date, 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with the PRC on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community; it is consistent with the basic norms of international relations.

History, jurisprudence and international reality have all proven that the truth that Taiwan is part of China and both the mainland and Taiwan belong to one China has never been changed and can't be changed. Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are yet to be reunified, the sovereignty and territory of China have never been divided. Motivated by its nature of pursuing Taiwan independence and political gains, the DPP authorities profess that Taiwan and the mainland should not be subordinate to each other and that the status of Taiwan has yet to be determined. Their attempt to deny or dispute the one-China principle distorts the facts and confuses the public.

The Taiwan question is an internal affair of China and no external interference will be tolerated. Diplomatic relations between China and the U.S. are premised on dealing with Taiwan-related issues prudently and properly, and the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US bilateral relations. The three China-U.S. joint communiques clearly describe the U.S.' commitments on the Taiwan issue. The U.S. side explicitly declared in the Shanghai Communique released in 1972 that the United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government does not challenge that position. The China-U.S. Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, published in 1978, states: The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan. It also states: The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China. However, the U.S. has constantly clouded the one-China principle in recent years. They are breaching their commitments on the one-China principle and turning their backs on the wheel of history. We firmly oppose this. We urge the U.S. side to adhere to the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, and deal with Taiwan-related issues prudently and properly.

Just as the white paper says: We are one China, and Taiwan is part of China. This is an indisputable fact supported by history and the law. Taiwan has never been a state; its status as part of China is unalterable. Any attempt to distort these facts and dispute or deny the one-China principle will fail. Thank you.