On August 3, 2022, Mr. Li Xiaoyong, Chargé d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Sierra Leone, received a joint interview on Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan by the local media.
1. It is reported that the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan on the 2nd and held talks with the leaders of the Taiwan region on the 3rd. How does China comment on this?
Li Xiaoyong：On 2nd August, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi’s has brazenly went ahead with her visit to China's Taiwan region with deaf ears of China’s firm opposition and strong position. It sends a very wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces. It is a serious violation of the One-China principle and the provisions in the three Sino-US joint communiques. It deals a serious blow to the political foundation of China-US relations, seriously infringes on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. As State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, It proves once again that some U.S. politicians have become "troublemakers" of China-U.S. relations, and that the United States has become the "biggest destroyer" of peace across the Taiwan Strait and for regional stability.
2. You have mentioned the one-China principle. What special significance does it have on the Taiwan question and China-US relations?
Li Xiaoyong：There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is at the core of the one-China principle, and has become the consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations. In October 1971, the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which decided 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.” To date, 181 countries around the world, including the US, have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle.
The one-China principle is the centerpiece of the three Sino-US joint communiques, and the premise and foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and the US. In 1979, the US made a clear commitment in the Sino-US Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations that “the United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China” and “within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.” The US Congress, as part of the US Government, is obliged to strictly follow the one-China policy of the US Government and not engage in any official interactions with China’s Taiwan region. Pelosi is the incumbent Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and ranks second in the US presidential line of succession. Her visit to Taiwan, in whatever form, under whatever pretext and at whatever time during her tenure, would be a serious violation of the one-China policy as committed by the US Government, mark a major political provocation upgrading the official interactions and substantive relations between the US and Taiwan, and signal connivance and support for “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.
3. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on the margins of the NPT Review Conference yesterday that “Congress is an independent, coequal branch of government...this is very much precedent in the sense that previous speakers visited Taiwan...And so if the Speaker does decide to visit, and China tries to create some kind of crisis or otherwise escalate tensions, that [responsibility] would be entirely on Beijing.” Do you have any response?
Li Xiaoyong: I think the world has seen very clearly that it is the US’s provocations that have led to the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The US should and must take full responsibility for it. Secretary Blinken’s words confound black with white and have once again revealed the hegemonic mindset and extortionist logic of some people in the US. The US is essentially saying to us that “I can make provocations against you as I please, but you cannot reject them or act in self-defense.”
As I just mentioned, In 1979, the US government made a clear commitment in the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. So any US government institution, executive, legislative and judicial alike, must act on the foreign policy recognized and committed to by the US government. And the wrongful actions of certain US politicians in the past do not constitute a precedent and still less should they become an excuse for the US to repeat its mistake on the Taiwan question.
4. John Kirby, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the White House, said that the US has seen no evidence of looming Chinese military activity against Taiwan. “If such a visit occurred, it would signal no change in US policy”, he said, adding that there is no reason for the US and China to “come to blows” or to “come to increased physical tension”. Do you have any response?
Li Xiaoyong: In recent years, the US has claimed that it is committed to the one-China policy, but action-wise, it has been backtracking, and even blurring and hollowing out the one-China principle. It has inserted into its characterization of the one-China policy the so-called “Taiwan Relations Act” and the “Six assurances”, which were unilaterally concocted and have never been recognized and have been firmly opposed to by China. The US has also gone against its commitment of maintaining non-official ties with the Taiwan region. It has upgraded its level of contact with Taiwan and has steadily increased arms sales to Taiwan.
After news came out about Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan, many people, including those from mainstream media and think tanks in the US and former political leaders of some US allies, have publicly said that whatever reason Pelosi uses to visit Taiwan, it would be foolish, dangerous, and unnecessary; that it would be a dangerous gamble; that it would be hard to imagine anything more reckless and provocative than this; and that if the US side misjudges or mishandles the cross-Strait situation, it will lead to disastrous consequences for the Taiwan region and even the security, prosperity and order of the entire world. Many people with insight both within and outside the US have seen this very clearly. They have repeatedly pointed out the danger of US actions. According to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who said at this year’s World Economic Forum, “my understanding of the agreement has been that the US would uphold the principle of one China”, “I think it’s essential that these principles be maintained”, and “the US should not by subterfuge or a gradual process develop something of a two-China solution”.
One-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It is the US side that has kept distorting and hollowing out the one-China policy, making irresponsible remarks and creating factors of tension on the Taiwan question. The US has recently begun to emphasize the importance of upholding all countries’ sovereignty and territorial integrity. We hope the US will honor those words first and foremost on the Taiwan question and refrain from applying double standards.
5. As the representative of Chinese Government in Sierra Leone, what is your message to Sierra Leone?
Li Xiaoyong：The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question is consistent. Resolutely safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity is the firm will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. Achieving full reunification of the motherland is a shared aspiration of all Chinese people.China and Sierra Leone are time-honored friends and have been understanding and supporting each other on major issues of core concern. China highly appreciates the Sierra Leonean government’s long-time support for the one-China principle. The Chinese side believes that Sierra Leone will understand China’s just and rational countermeasures against this visit.