“181 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations” (Hua Chunying, 02.08.2022).
Today it finally happened. There been reports and leaked information that this might occur. However, the Chinese government have warned about this in advance. The Biden Administration has clearly not gotten the memo. The call between the President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping has not worked. The Biden administration and such should have informed and been clear about it’s intentions. Instead, they are humiliating Beijing. We know that these Republic’s wants to be seen as superpowers and superior of others. That is knowledge the whole world has by now. Nevertheless, sometimes courtesy and follow requests can go a long way. That was not done here.
The Democratic Party run government has instead defied and acted in spite. For the Taiwan strait and the possibility of a fruitful dialogue between China-U.S. is thwarted here. U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has chosen sides and also sent a signal. That is sending alarm-bells to Beijing. As she landed in Taipei.
Here is some more vital information on the matter and why it’s consequential…
Chinese Government Statement on the Pelosi’s Taiwan travel:
“On 2 August, in disregard of China’s strong opposition and serious representations, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited China’s Taiwan region. This is a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués. It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, and seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”. China firmly opposes and sternly condemns this, and has made serious démarche and strong protest to the United States. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This has been clearly recognized by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, 181 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The one-China principle is a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations” (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China – ‘Statement by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan’ 02.08.2022, fmprc.gov.cn).
Xi-Biden Call:
“We are still relying on the official readouts and background briefings on the call, but as the readouts filter through the systems we may get more candid color on the call over the next few days. There does not appear to have been any deal on tariffs. Xi repeated a variation of his statement from the November call with Biden that those who play with fire over Taiwan will be burnt but neither readout mentions the possible Pelosi trip to Taiwan” (Bill Bishop – ‘Xi-Biden call; Politburo meeting; Taiwan; Chip corruption’ 29.07.2022, Sinocism.com).
The Washington D.C. diplomatic corps and everyone with some intelligence should know this would have a backdrop. This is showing loyalty towards Taiwan in spite and in dishonour of Beijing. The leadership of Beijing don’t want interference or questions about their reign. So, when the U.S. does this and has an adventure like that. It has costs and creates new burdens. Pelosi has burned bridges by just appearing and sending her regards from Taipei.
President Biden knew about this and the Indo-Pacific trip had to be cleared by the Home Secretary and the diplomats of Washington D.C. I doubt she just travelled and suddenly ended up in Taiwan. That was planned and scheduled. Even if the other nations visited by the U.S. House Speaker was announced ahead. The trip to Taiwan was hidden, but must have known. That’s why Chinese President warned against it. A simple reason why not too.
Even if Pelosi doesn’t come with weapons or financial aide. She still acted in defiance against the will and the sovereign state of China. As a seasoned politician she should know that this could cause trouble. When a grown person knows their act could cause issues. Maybe you should back-off and find other avenues to support Taiwan. Instead of a brief visit and create a diplomatic stalemate between the nations. That is a huge price over a trip. It is the definition of misadventure.
Pelosi isn’t helping Taiwan by doing this. She is only playing with fire and isn’t talking in a manner, which is useful for Beijing. What she has done is in spite and not constructive. How can you trust the U.S. when they cannot listen or adhere to simple requests?
I will also end with statement from someone from Taiwan:
“A relative (living outside Taiwan) asked me if I’m doing alright in Taiwan, given the global coverage over the last few days about Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. I said, things are normal because living in Taiwan, we have become used to China’s threats. The high-levelness of Pelosi’s visit made global news these few days and put greater spotlight on China’s threats, and for many people who seldom hear of news from this part of this world, the threats sound scary. But these are the threats Taiwanese face on a constant basis. The good thing about what happened these few days is that it has made people globally more aware of Taiwan’s situation and helped clarify the facts. China as it is known today was only founded by the CCP party in 1949, and since its founding, never ruled Taiwan. As such, CCP has no claims over Taiwan. Prior to CCP, it was the KMT political party which controlled most parts of China. It later fled to Taiwan and controlled Taiwan, but since Taiwan democratized from the late-1980s, Taiwanese have voted KMT out of government. Taiwan today has therefore never been controlled by CCP, and CCP does not have any claims over Taiwan. Taiwanese have also exercised their democratic rights to elect a government of their own choosing, and based on surveys, people here see themselves as Taiwanese, not Chinese. To Taiwanese, the issue of Taiwan’s identity is thus settled: Taiwan is a normal independent country. However, China has blocked other countries from establishing normal relations with Taiwan, which allows it to push the idea that Taiwan isn’t independent and belongs to China. In order to stop allowing such an idea to be propagated, it is therefore important for other countries to interact with Taiwan normally, and this is why not making a fuss over Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan is important. This normalizes the fact that Taiwan is an independent country. These few days allow people to be more aware of Taiwan’s situation & to have first hand experience of the threats China is capable of making against Taiwan. Hopefully, it helps emphasize why it’s important to not to placate authoritarian regimes, as this will only embolden them” (Roy Ngerng 鄞義林, 02.08.2022).
We can expect more coming and this just shows how things really are. It is no surprise that Beijing wants sovereign control over Taipei and Taiwan. However, that isn’t the case, but certainly the tensions between the superpowers will persist. Because, Pelosi did humiliate the CCP in Beijing. That will have consequence whether we like it or not. Peace.
MinBane 