Author Haiping
"If the US side continues to go all the way to the dark on the road of playing the 'Taiwan card,' it will inevitably pose a huge risk of subversion to Sino-US relations." On October 27, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian's remarks at a regular news conference caused a great shock on both sides of the strait and in the international public opinion field.
U.S. Secretary of State Blinken
The night before, US Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement saying that the United States supports and encourages all UN member states to join the United States in supporting Taiwan's active and meaningful participation in the UN system and the international community. This is the Biden administration's once again "playing with fire" and escalating provocations on the Taiwan issue. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Chinese Embassy in the United States, and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council all issued statements on the 27th, expressing strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition, making solemn representations to the US side, and advising the DPP authorities to immediately abandon the illusion of "relying on the United States for independence" and "relying on foreign countries for independence."
Many people may feel that since entering October, which has a special significance for both sides of the strait, the situation in the Taiwan Strait seems to be tense to another "height." But how nervous is that? Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian's statement should be one of the most authoritative and accurate summaries.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian
The deep meaning behind such harsh wording, careful consideration, we can see how serious the consequences will be if the UNITED States and Taiwan do not restrain themselves from the precipice. This "subversive" risk may not be limited to the "small cross-strait" relationship between the mainland and Taiwan, but may also extend to the "big cross-strait" relationship between China and the United States in the Pacific.
Why did Sino-US relations and cross-strait relations come to such a difficult situation and accumulate such high risks as they currently have? The culprit is, of course, the frenzied provocations of the "Taiwan independence" forces and the dangerous attempts of the external interference forces led by the United States. Let's first sort out what they've been doing lately—
Provocations by "Taiwan independence forces":
On August 31, Tsai Ing-wen referred to the mainland as a "neighbor" and published the so-called "neighboring country theory," which is essentially a "two-state theory."
● On October 10, Tsai Ing-wen again called for "mutual non-subordination theory." Sun Yafu, vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait [ARATS], held that the "theory of mutual non-subordination" is not only an inheritance of Lee Teng-hui's "two-state theory," but also an upgraded version of the "two-state theory."
●Taiwan media recently reported that "the US military has been stationed in Taiwan for more than a year," which was questioned as a deliberate attempt by the Tsai Ing-wen authorities to let the Taiwan media speculate. Unexpectedly, on October 27, Tsai Ing-wen accepted a CNN report that for the first time publicly confirmed the message of "US military training in Taiwan". As for how many US troops are stationed in Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen said that "there is not as much as the outside world thinks", and said that Taiwan has many cooperation with the US military.
Tsai Ing-wen, the leader of the Taiwan authorities
Provocations by the United States and other interventional forces:
On the evening of October 21, US President Joe Biden said on CNN that the United States would "defend Taiwan." Although the White House and the Pentagon quickly explained that "the US policy on Taiwan has not changed," and US Defense Secretary Austin, who was meeting at the NATO headquarters in Belgium, also shouted across the ocean, saying that the United States will continue to abide by the "one-China policy," the outside world generally questioned whether the United States was playing a "two-handed strategy."
On October 26, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement saying that Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN system is a pragmatic rather than a political one. The US side encourages all UN member states to join the US in supporting Taiwan's active and meaningful participation in the UN system and the international community, and argues that this is in line with the US "one China" policy.
In addition, the United States has also instigated Australia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other "little brothers" to act as pawns on the Taiwan issue, charge into the battlefield, and provoke China.
It can be seen from this that Taiwan and the United States are stepping up their pace of hooking up and playing the political trick of "one song and one harmony." This is the root cause of the current tense and turbulent situation in the Taiwan Strait.
Tsai Ing-wen's clamor for the "two-state theory" is completely inverting right and wrong, deceiving the Taiwan people, and constantly approaching the mainland's red line; her public confirmation of the news that "US troops are stationed in Taiwan" is, on the one hand, self-respecting by the foreigners, pretending to be a tiger, and pulling the United States to support itself; on the other hand, she wants to pull the United States into the water, trying to tie the United States and Taiwan to the same chariot, and "relying on the United States to seek independence."
The Biden administration has verbally stressed that it "does not support Taiwan independence," but in action it has constantly intensified its "Taiwan card" to match its "Indo-Pacific strategy" of containing and suppressing China. This "dangerous game" in which the United States constantly tests China's bottom line and openly challenges China's core interests is not only sending a wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" forces, objectively encouraging the Tsai Ing-wen authorities to step up the pace of "Taiwan independence" on the island, creating a turbulent current of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" in the international arena, and more seriously further eroding the political foundation of Sino-US relations under the one-China principle.
The trees want to be quiet and the wind is not stopping. In the face of the complicated situation in the Taiwan Strait, Chinese mainland maintained its strategic determination, always strived for peaceful reunification of the two sides of the strait with the greatest sincerity and the greatest efforts, proceeded from the well-being of the people on both sides of the strait, managed the risks in the Taiwan Strait with the greatest patience, and tried its best to promote peace in the Taiwan Strait. However, the increased collusion and provocation between the "Taiwan independence" forces and the external interference forces have made the situation in the Taiwan Strait more turbulent, the risk spiral has increased, and the Chinese mainland have become more vigilant.
The Taiwan issue is China's core interest, and Chinese mainland there is no room for compromise and no room for concessions. Where is the bottom line for Chinese mainland? Article 8 of the "Anti-Secession Law" clearly stipulates: "The "Taiwan independence" separatist forces have caused the fact of Taiwan's separation from China in any name or by any means, or a major event that will lead to Taiwan's separation from China, or the possibility of peaceful reunification has been completely lost, and the state may adopt non-peaceful means and other necessary measures to safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity." This law stipulates the firm common will of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.
The mainland adheres to the principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," pursues the bright prospects of peaceful reunification, and has the determination and ability to peacefully resolve the Taiwan issue, but the mainland does not promise to renounce the use of force. The illusion of "Taiwan independence" forces or external interference forces separating Taiwan from China is doomed to a dead end.