China to US: Stop eroding one-China principle

Wan Hengyi

Beijing: Some people on the island of Taiwan are hyping the US’ latest revisions to Taiwan-related statements in an attempt to conspire with external forces to seek “Taiwan independence,” which cannot change the fact that Taiwan region is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory, officials from the Chinese mainland said.

China urged the US to stop eroding the one-China principle, and take concrete actions to abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-US joint communiques, Zhu Fenglian, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said on Wednesday after Washington made extensive revisions to its statements on the Taiwan question.

Zhao Lijian, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, made similar remarks on Tuesday. The revision of Taiwan-related statements by the US is an attempt to erode the one-China principle and the US’ political manipulation over the Taiwan question and attempts to change the status quo across the Taiwan Straits is bound to backfire, he said.

Beijing’s announcement came after the US State Department made extensive adjustments and revisions to its statements on so-called US-Taiwan relations on its website. Two important items were deleted: “The United States does not support Taiwan independence” and “In the Joint Communique, the United States recognized the government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China, acknowledging the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.”

While deleting the important statements, the State Department also added new content, including sentences such as: “The United States has a longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances,” and “Taiwan has become an important U.S. partner in trade and investment, health, semiconductors and other critical supply chains, investment screening, science, technology, education, and in advancing democratic values.”

Ned Price, the spokesperson of the Department of State, said on Tuesday that the unofficial relations between the US and the island were “rock solid” while saying that the US still adheres to its “one-China policy.”

The US’ revision of the Taiwan-related statements is its consistent tactic of political manipulation of the Taiwan question, and it’s hard to say that this will directly lead to a major adjustment in its policy toward the island, Lü Xiang, research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

In a move that can help identify and oppose acts that divide the feelings of compatriots across the Straits, the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo recently launched a function to display users’ IP address. The separatist DPP authorities on Taiwan island said that they will continue to pay attention to such “controversial platforms,” and will investigate if any illegal behavior is involved.

Zhu Fenglian said on Wednesday that websites and social platforms in the Chinese mainland display users’ IP addresses to effectively control internet rumors, false information and cyber violence, and help netizens distinguish between fake and genuine information on the internet.

Some people in Taiwan deliberately create trouble on relevant websites and platforms, sabotage cross-Straits exchanges and drive compatriots on both sides against each other, and the display of users’ IP addresses is a good way to identify such abominable behavior and intention, Zhu added.

The friendly interaction between the two sides has never been stopped. Logging into a livestream fitness session each day led by Taiwan-born singer Liu Genghong, or Will Liu, has been a daily routine of millions of people stranded at home under COVID-19.

Liu, a singer and actor born on the island of Taiwan, took the internet by storm and became the hottest fitness broadcaster on Chinese social media in a short period of time, amassing more than 64.82 million followers on Douyin as of Wednesday.

Zhu Fenglian said on Wednesday that Liu Genghong’s livestream of aerobics has gained wide attention in the Chinese mainland and millions of netizens have gained healthy, happy and positive energy from his work.

Hung Hsiu-chu, a former head of the Kuomintang and chairman of the Chinese Cyan Geese Peace Education Foundation, said Wednesday at the fifth cross-Straits Youth Development Forum in Hangzhou that the integration of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island is an irresistible historical trend, and the countercurrent of Taiwan independence cannot shake the mighty historical trend.