On 5 August 2022, Chinese Ambassador to Jamaica Chen Daojiang contributed a signature article entitled The Public Opinion Cannot be Defied and Those Who Play With Fire Will Perish by It to the Jamaica Our Today website. The full text is as follows:
On 2 August 2022, 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”. Various walks of life in Jamaica and the international community are paying close attention to it. I would like to briefly introduce the historical ins and outs of the Taiwan question and China’s position to Jamaican brothers and sisters.
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, including the US, 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.
China is all along opposed to the visit to Taiwan by U.S. congressional members, and the U.S. executive branch has the responsibility to stop such visit. Since Speaker Pelosi is the incumbent leader of the US Congress, her visit to and activities in Taiwan, in whatever form and for whatever reason, is a major political provocation to upgrade U.S. official exchanges with Taiwan. China absolutely does not accept this, and the Chinese people absolutely reject this. Pelosi’s stunt is another bankruptcy of US politics, diplomacy and credibility. It proves the US to be the biggest saboteur of peace in the Taiwan Strait and the biggest troublemaker to regional stability. It proves the US’s Indo-Pacific strategy to be highly confrontational and harmful. It also proves the hypocrisy and double standards of the US regarding international rules. If China does not firmly resist the US’s recklessness, irresponsibility and extreme irrationality, then the principle of respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity in international relations will just become words on paper and separatists and extremists will only become more reckless, and the hard-won peace and stability in this region will be seriously undermined.
Recently, President President Xi spoke with US President Joe Biden on the phone at the request of the latter and highlighted that the historical ins and outs of the Taiwan question are crystal clear, and so are the fact and status quo that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. China firmly opposes separatist moves toward “Taiwan independence” and interference by external forces, and never allows any room for “Taiwan independence” forces in whatever form. The position of the Chinese government and people on the Taiwan question is consistent, and resolutely safeguarding China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity is the firm will of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. The public opinion cannot be defied. Those who play with fire will perish by it. China will definitely take all necessary measures to resolutely safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in response to the US Speaker’s visit. All the consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the US side and the “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Jamaica in 1972, Jamaica has always been adhering to the one-China principle, and China highly appreciates for it. We believe that Jamaica will continue adhering to the one-China principle, firmly supporting China on the Taiwan question and other issues involving China’s core interests, and supporting China’s efforts in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also hope that the international community could clearly recognize the cause and nature of the current crisis, jointly oppose the recklessness and the provocation of the US, continue to support China’s just position and measures and jointly protect regional and cross-Strait peace. China stands ready to work with Jamaica and other countries to continue to firmly oppose hegemonism, power politics and external interference, resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and stay committed to the UN-centered international system and the international order underpinned by international law so as to make greater contribution to building a community with a shared future for mankind.
