Chinese diplomat urges US to genuinely adhere to one-China principle

CHICAGO - There should be a genuine adherence on the US part to the one-China principle before peace and stability can be maintained across the Taiwan Strait, Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian said recently.

The political confrontation across the Taiwan Strait after 1949 was a continuation of the Chinese civil war, Zhao said in a signed article published in Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in the US state of Minnesota.

"But both sides have maintained that there is only one China and Taiwan is a part of China, and remained committed to realizing reunification, though they differed on how to do so," he said.

Tension arose because Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities, since coming to power, have openly challenged the one-China principle and kept pushing forward "de-sinicization" and "incremental independence," Zhao said.

The US government has continuously obscured and hollowed out the one-China principle, upgraded official contacts with Taiwan and arms sales to Taiwan, only emboldening Taiwan's provocative activities, he added.

The one-China principle is the centerpiece of the relevant China-US joint communiques, and forms the bedrock of China-US relations, said Zhao. "If the United States really wants to contribute to the stability across the strait, there should be a genuine adherence to the one-China principle and a true support to the Chinese efforts to promote the peaceful reunification."

Just as the US government would never agree to the splitting of the union during the American Civil War, the Chinese will never allow the separatist forces to split China, Zhao stressed.

China resolutely safeguards the one-China principle and will do the utmost to pursue peaceful reunification, Zhao reiterated. "The Chinese people won't fight against their compatriots, but will never allow 'Taiwan independence.'"