Ambassador details opposition to trip

China opposes US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan because the trip openly violates the US commitment not to develop official relations with the island while it also sends a strong signal to "Taiwan independence" forces that the United States is on their side, said Beijing's top envoy in Washington.

In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post on Thursday, Ambassador Qin Gang said that when Beijing and Washington established diplomatic relations on Jan 1, 1979, the US recognized in a joint communique with China that the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate government of China, and since then, the US has long been committed to not developing official relations with Taiwan.

Traveling in a military aircraft, Pelosi－the third-highest ranking official in the US government－paid a high-profile "official visit to Taiwan" on Tuesday, as her office characterized it, and her entourage was given full-protocol treatment by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities, who make no secret of pursuing independence in their party platform.

"Such a visit has openly broken the US commitment not to develop official relations with Taiwan. These are extremely irresponsible, provocative and dangerous moves," Qin wrote.

The ambassador's article, "Why China objects to Pelosi's visit to Taiwan", was a response to Pelosi's op-ed,"Why I'm leading a congressional delegation to Taiwan", which was published in the Post to coincide with her arrival on the island last week.

In her article, the top US lawmaker said that her visit "in no way contradicts the long-standing one-China policy", which she said is "guided" by the "Taiwan Relations Act" of 1979, the US-China Joint Communiques and the "Six Assurances", and that the US continues to oppose unilateral efforts to change the status quo.

The Chinese ambassador pointed out that the one-China policy is part of the postwar international order and has become a general international consensus. The US, which sees itself as a champion of the "rule-based international order", should naturally abide by the one-China policy, Qin said.

But Washington has violated and undermined the policy by adopting the Taiwan Relations Act and the "Six Assurances".

"It is doing so again now in a broader attempt to unilaterally change the status quo on Taiwan and alter the postwar international order," Qin wrote.

In his article, Qin mentioned Henry Kissinger, who was personally involved in the negotiations for the normalization of Sino-US relations a half-century ago, and witnessed how the Taiwan question was properly handled on the basis of the one-China policy.

Qin quoted the former US secretary of state as saying in late May,"The United States should not by subterfuge or by a gradual process develop something of a 'two-China' solution."

The Chinese envoy also noted that the US sees Taiwan as a means to contain China and has been "hollowing out" the one-China policy. In the past 18 months alone, it has made five rounds of arms sales to Taiwan.

US President Joe Biden has said many times that the US will not change its one-China policy and does not support "Taiwan independence".

"But for 'Taiwan independence' forces, Pelosi's visit represents an exceptionally strong signal that 'the US is on Taiwan's side'," Qin wrote, adding that this notion goes against the one-China policy, the Sino-US joint communiques and Washington's own commitments.

In addition, the Pelosi visit will lead "Taiwan independence" forces further down a dangerous path, with peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits hanging in the balance, Qin wrote.