#WeGotMail: Those who play with fire will perish by it
The visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to China's Taiwan region has been under the international spotlight in recent weeks, prompting the Philippine Government to issue a statement on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, calling on U.S., China to be “responsible actors” in Asia-Pacific. Unfortunately, despite the repeated warnings from China as well as the appeals from the Philippines and some other countries to avoid escalation of tensions, Speaker Pelosi brazenly went ahead with her visit to Taiwan on August 2, 2022. Since many people in Mindanao may not know in detail about the Taiwan question and the U.S. involvement in it, I feel obliged to present a brief introduction and explanation on China's positions with the question.
The most important of all is the one-China Principle: there is only one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of the Chinese territory. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The one-China Principle is an established international consensus and a widely recognized basic norm in international relations, affirmed by Resolution 2758 of the United Nations General Assembly. It is the core of China's core interests, the premise on which the People’s Republic of China established diplomatic relations with 181 countries. That includes the U.S., which made a solemn commitment not to engage in any official or government-to-government activities with Taiwan in the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, namely the 1972 Communiqué (the Shanghai Communiqué), the 1979 Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, and the 1982 Communiqué.
As current House Speaker of the U.S., second in the U.S. presidential line of succession, Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan constituted a violation to the above-mentioned commitment, blatantly violated China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and the region, supported the secessionists in Taiwan, and further damaged the relationship between China and the U.S..
To put things in context, the U.S. has used Taiwan as a tool to contain China's development since 1949, and it has been bent on doing so in recent years. The U.S. has been sending naval vessels and military airplanes to the Taiwan Strait, creating tension and sowing discord, then selling weapons to Taiwan. Similar practices by the U.S. authority to grossly meddle in other countries' internal affairs are not new to the international community. As a result, the situation in Taiwan has changed for the worse, and the "Taiwan Independence" elements are moving down on the wrong path, which China firmly opposes.
Speaker Pelosi’s uninvited visit to China's Taiwan region is apparently another serious provocation against Chinese people. The U.S. turned a deaf ear to all warnings, appeals and requests of peace-loving countries and therefore should bear all the consequences. It is the responsible obligation of China to protect its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in the meantime, to safeguard regional peace and stability. The message to the U.S. is clear, those who play with fire will perish by it.
-- Consul General of China in Davao on China's positions on the Taiwan question and U.S. House Speaker Pelosi's visit to the region (Emailed from China Consulate General, Davao City on August 3, 2022)