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 seriously infringes upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It has a severe impact on the political foundation of China-U.S. relations, gravely undermines peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, sends a seriously wrong signal to the separatist forces for “Taiwan independence”. It has aroused strong indignation among the Chinese people.

Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China’s territory for 1,800 years. In 1943, the leaders of China, the United States and Britain issued the Cairo Declaration, which clearly states that all territories Japan stole from the Chinese, such as Taiwan, shall be restored to China. The Potsdam Declaration of 1945 affirmed that the terms of the Cairo Declaration would be carried out. Since 1949, Taiwan and the mainland of China have been in a state of temporary division as a remaining problem due to civil war, but this has not changed the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Straits are inalienable parts of China. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, recognized that the representatives of the government of the People’s Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations. 

When China and the United States established diplomatic relations in 1979, the United States recognized in the joint communique with China that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government of China. Four decades have passed since, and the United States has long been committed to not developing official relations with Taiwan. The one-China principle is the premise and foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and the US, and also a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations.

Congress, as a part of the U.S. Government, is inherently obliged to strictly observe the one-China policy of the U.S. Government and refrain from having any official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region. Speaker Pelosi is the incumbent leader of the U.S. Congress, her visit to and activities in Taiwan is a major political provocation to upgrade U.S. official exchanges with Taiwan, and emboldens “Taiwan independence” separatist activities. It is neither conducive to regional peace, security and stability, nor serves the common interests of the Chinese and American people.

It is the firm commitment of the more than 1.4 billion Chinese people to resolutely safeguard state sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is the common aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese sons and daughters to realize the complete reunification of the motherland. In recent days, a large number of overseas Chinese, including the overseas Chinese in the U.S., feel the same about opposing Pelosi's reckless visit to Taiwan, stressing that the Taiwan question is purely China's internal affair, which brooks no external interference, and China's complete reunification is an irresistible and unstoppable trend of the times.

The Taiwan question is about China’s sovereignty and unity — not democracy. President Lincoln famously said, “A house divided cannot stand.” We believe the American people will not accept the secession of any state from the U.S.. The Chinese people will also never accept Taiwan's independence from China. The Taiwan question is the Chinese people's own affair, which allows no interference from outside forces. Any action of playing the “Taiwan card”, using Taiwan to contain China or clinging to the United States to seek "independence" will be all in vain. 

We hope that the people from all walks of life in the consular districts can respect the Chinese people’s aspiration for promoting the development of cross-strait relations and achieving complete reunification of China, stay awake for some US politicians who have become "troublemakers" of China-U.S. relations and "biggest destroyer" of peace across the Taiwan Strait and for regional stability, and to stand with peace, stand in the common interests of the two peoples, and to stand on the right side of history.