Embassy: US overtures to Taiwan will fail

Fifty years ago, the United States' attempt to create "one China, one Taiwan" or "two Chinas" in the United Nations ended in failure. Today, it's openly emboldening the "Taiwan independence" forces and challenging the one-China principle, which also will be futile and doomed to failure, said a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in the US on Tuesday.

The embassy official made the comment hours after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement "Supporting Taiwan's Participation in the UN System" in which he claimed, "Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN system is not a political issue."

"It must be pointed out that the United Nations is an intergovernmental, international organization that only sovereign states can join. Taiwan-related matters are a serious political issue; they are not about so-called 'values'," said the spokesperson.

The US side is "intentionally" distorting the issue and misleading public opinion, he added.

Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory; 180 countries, including the US, have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of abiding by the one-China principle, the spokesperson noted.

He said that the Taiwan authorities have been keeping their "diehard" position of "Taiwan independence" and adamantly refusing to recognize the "1992 Consensus", an agreement reached by the two sides in 1992, in which both recognize there is only one China — with both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belonging to it.

"With the support and encouragement of its American boss, it is sparing no effort to expand its 'international space' and go further down the path of 'Taiwan independence'," said the spokesperson. "This is the biggest and real threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait."

That is also the fundamental reason why Taiwan has not been able to participate in the activities of multilateral organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), the two bodies that Blinken singled out in his statement.

The spokesperson noted that the Taiwan region enjoys free access to the information from ICAO and has convenient air connections with many cities around the world.

On the basis of the one-China principle, medical and public health experts from the Taiwan region can attend related technical meetings of the WHO, and it enjoys free access to the information on public health, including COVID-19.

"By making an issue of ICAO and WHO, what the US has in mind is simply an open secret," he said.

In his statement, Blinken claimed the one-China policy is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.

The Chinese embassy spokesperson pointed out that the one-China principle and the three Sino-US Joint Communiques are the political foundation of the China-US relationship, and that the Chinese side has been firmly opposed to and has never accepted the "Taiwan Relations Act" and the "Six Assurances" unilaterally concocted by the US side.

"Therefore it could not be more ridiculous for the US side to put the 'Taiwan Relations Act' before the three Sino-US Joint Communiques in its statement," he said.

He urged the US side to face up to that fact, stay true to its commitment, adhere to the one-China principle and the three Joint Communiques, and abide by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758.

That UN resolution, adopted on Oct 25, 1971, has once and for all solved the issue of the People's Republic of China's representation in the UN in political, legal and procedural terms.

"We urge the US side to stop official contacts with Taiwan, cease making irresponsible and erroneous remarks, and take real actions to maintain the overall situation of China-US relations and cross-Strait peace and stability," he noted. 

Blinken's statement was another move in recent days by the US to hype the Taiwan question to help Taiwan expand its "international space", the spokesperson said.

On Friday, the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States convened a high-level virtual forum, with participants from the US Department of State and the Taiwan authorities discussing supporting Taiwan's ability to participate meaningfully at the UN in such areas as global public health, the environment and climate change.

On both occasions, the Chinese side said it is "gravely" concerned about and firmly opposed to the actions of the US side and has lodged "stern" representations with it.