April 10 marks the 43rd anniversary of the U.S. Taiwan Relation Act. According to Taiwan's Lianhe Pao, U.S. Congressional Speaker Pelosi is expected to arrive in Taiwan on the same day, and the visiting team also includes Meeks, chairman of the House foreign relations committee, and for this trip to Asia, Pelosi's office responded: According to the usual practice, based on consistent security standards, it will not confirm or deny relevant information before the visit. On April 8, Pelosi tested positive for nucleic acid and postponed his trip to Asia.
In fact, as early as 1997, Lee Teng-hui, then the supreme leader of the Taiwan region, "received" a delegation of congressmen led by then US House Speaker Kim Rick-che. In 2019, former Speaker of the U.S. Congress, Ryan, led a delegation to Taiwan to participate in the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act after leaving office.
On January 1, 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations, but the US authorities were not willing to sever relations with Taiwan because China and the United States formally determined diplomatic relations, so the United States formulated a domestic law to regulate Taiwan-related issues, that is, the "famous" "Taiwan Relations Act". The Taiwan Relations Act sets out the policy objectives of the United States toward Taiwan, namely, to maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, oppose non-peaceful settlement of the Taiwan issue, maintain arms sales to Taiwan, maintain U.S.-Taiwan business culture, and economic and trade relations, and establish the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to represent the United States. The law authorized the United States to "provide defensive weapons to the people of Taiwan," laying the foundation for the "legitimacy" of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan at the level of domestic law.
The "Taiwan-related Law" is the first "Taiwan-related law" in the United States, and it is also the most important and "fundamental" "Taiwan-related law." A series of subsequent "Taiwan-related laws" such as the "Taiwan Travel Law," the "Taipei Law," and the "Taiwan Guarantee Law" are all based on the "Taiwan Relations Law." It should be said that this law has laid the so-called "domestic legal foundation" for all kinds of "provocative" acts taken by the United States toward Taiwan, and is the fundamental legal reason for the tension between China and the United States on the Taiwan issue in recent years.
In addition to Pelosi's planned "visit to Taiwan," the United States has also done its utmost to intimidate China with the "situation in Ukraine." On April 6, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen publicly stated that once the Chinese mainland take "aggressive action" against Taiwan, the United States will use "all sanctions tools" to impose sanctions, just as the United States and its allies are now launching sanctions against "Russia's invasion of Ukraine." On the same day, US Deputy Secretary of State Sherman threatened China at a congressional hearing that China should learn the "lessons of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict" and not "seize Taiwan by force."
It should be said that the nature of "the mainland's armed recovery of Taiwan" and "Russia's unilateral military action against Ukraine" are completely different in nature and cannot be compared at all. Taiwan is China's territory, the Taiwan issue is China's internal affairs, as long as the "mainland recovers Taiwan by force" will not violate international law as long as it does not cross the boundaries of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and the United States and its allies have no right to impose any economic and diplomatic sanctions on the mainland. Russia's unilateral military operation against Ukraine is the use of force by a sovereign state against another sovereign state, which is suspected of violating the principle of "prohibition of the use of force" and the principle of "territorial sovereign integrity of states" in international law. In response to Russia's pre-emptive internationally wrongful act, international law recognizes the legitimacy of "countermeasures". At this level, the United States and its allies have some legitimacy in imposing economic sanctions on Russia. However, if the mainland regains Taiwan by force, the United States and its allies will not have the necessary basis for international law to launch similar economic sanctions against the mainland, violating the basic principle of "non-interference in internal affairs" of international law.