In early August, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, stoked the anger of China, when against all the warnings; she visited Taiwan in what the Chinese government considered a violation of its sovereignty over the Island.
Her visit apparently reinforced the new brinkmanship between China and the United States over power and influence in Asia, especially over the Taiwan question as China warned of repercussions and prepared for live-fire drills to announce its sovereignty of the Island.
Just recently, the Taiwan affairs office of the State Council and the State Council information office of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) published a white paper titled “The Taiwan Question and China’s Reunification in the New Era”.
In the white paper the Chinese government sounded with absolute vehemence that Taiwan, despite its autonomy, remains an indisputable part of China and reiterated its warning to divisive elements both within and outside the territory of unimaginable consequences for supporters of secession in Taiwan.
“Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times. This statement has a sound basis in history and jurisprudence. New archeological discoveries and research findings regularly attest to the profound historical and cultural ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. A large number of historical records and annals document the development of Taiwan by the Chinese people in earlier periods.
“The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People’s Congress (NPC) in December 1982, stipulates: “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China. It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland,” it said.
Beijing said further that “resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation.”
The Government of Xi Jinping appears emphatic in its efforts to resist the efforts made by the Taiwan authorities, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to redouble their efforts to seek independence, having received backing from external forces especially the US. China has accused the US of trying to exploit Taiwan to contain China, prevent the Chinese nation from achieving complete reunification, and halt the process of national rejuvenation.
Going deep into history, the Chinese authorities reeled out the UN resolutions reached that reportedly strengthened its claims that Taiwan remains part of mainland China.
During the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945) in which Japan was defeated, China’s Communists called for the recovery of Taiwan, when the Chinese government issued a declaration of war against Japan, and proclaimed that all treaties, conventions, agreements, and contracts regarding relations between China and Japan had been abrogated, and that China would recover Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.
The Beijing government added that the Cairo Declaration issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom on December 1, 1943 stated that it was the purpose of the three allies that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China.
Although the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by Mao Zedong and the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai -Shek descended into a civil war in 1940s, the sovereignty and territory of China and Taiwan’s status as part of China’s territory is said to have remained unchanged.
The White paper said “After the defeat of the KMT the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded on October 1, 1949, becoming the successor to the Republic of China (1912-1949) as 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.
“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, so there is no such thing as “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”.
The Beijing government has maintained that the one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community; stressing that it is consistent with the basic norms of international relations. It pointed out that to date, 181 countries including the United States have established diplomatic relations with the PRC on the basis of the one-China principle.
The Taiwan Question is sure to intensify the faceoff between a determined China and the US and its allies which are steadily backing the Taiwan authorities including military support.
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