U.S. breach of one-China principle undermines post-war int'l order

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's nasty visit to China's Taiwan region has violated China's sovereignty and interfered in China's internal affairs.

Instead of acknowledging and rectifying its mistake, the U.S. side has accused China of overreacting and undermining the international order, a striking demonstration of its old ploy of a thief crying "stop the thief!"

The one-China principle constitutes part of the post-WWII world order, and Washington is undermining the post-war international order to challenge the principle.

There is only one China in the world, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. The Cairo Declaration issued in 1943 stipulated that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. The Potsdam Proclamation signed in 1945 reiterated the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out. All this points to the incontrovertible fact that Taiwan belongs to China.

The two documents, together with other files that have the legal effect of international law, are important legal cornerstones for the joint construction of the post-war international order, and have played an important and positive role in consolidating the victorious achievements of the world anti-fascist war and maintaining world peace.

By breaching the one-China principle, the U.S. side is challenging the legal effect of the two documents. That has trampled on historical facts and justice, damaged the post-war international order and the basic norms of international law, and desecrated the achievements of the world anti-fascist war.

Unscrupulously challenging the post-war international order will certainly have serious consequences. The international system with the United Nations at the core and the international order based on international law have long maintained an overall stable international relations.

The one-China principle is a very crucial international consensus currently recognized by the United Nations, which has the legal effect of international law and is an important prerequisite and basis for maintaining the stability of relations among major countries.

The United States has willfully challenged international rules, which will undermine the function and status of the United Nations in the international system and damage the interests of the vast majority of countries in the international community.

If such important international rules and the spirit of international law that underpin the international order are damaged, multiple major global problems will go unresolved. Hence all humanity will suffer, and the United States is by no means immune from that.

The one-China principle was confirmed by Resolution 2758 adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971. It has become an integral part of the post-war international order.

This resolution settled once and for all the political, legal and procedural issues of China's representation in the United Nations, and it covers the whole country, including Taiwan. It also spelled out that China has one single seat in the United Nations, so there is no such thing as "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." Thus the representatives of the government of the People's Republic of China are the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations.

The 181 countries that have established diplomatic relations with China have clearly recognized the one-China principle in communiques or by other means, and pledged to sever official relations with the Taiwan authorities, which also constitutes the political basis for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and other countries. Challenging the one-China principle is defying the broad consensus of the international community.

Challenging the one-China principle is in essence undermining China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, interfering in China's internal affairs or even supporting "secession." It has violated the basic norms of international law as enshrined in the UN Charter such as respecting state sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-intervention in internal affairs of states.

By challenging the one-China principle, the United States shows no respect for the international order based on the UN Charter and international law. In fact, the United States is the biggest saboteur of the international order and the most flagrant troublemaker against regional stability.

The one-China principle constitutes the political foundation of China-U.S. relations. While voicing its ostensible support for the one-China principle, the United States is actually using salami tactics to encroach upon, obscure and hollow out the one-China principle. The U.S. side places its unilaterally-concocted "Taiwan Relations Act" and "Six Assurances," which it claims are part of what guides its one-China policy, above the three China-U.S. joint communiques.

Adhering to the one-China principle is not only a political commitment made by the United States to China, but also one it has made to the international community.

It is well-known that a country's use of domestic legislations to circumvent its international obligations, or even to deny or modify the international commitments it has made, is a serious violation of the principle of estoppel in international law, and thus has no legal effect.

Taiwan is part of China. This is an indisputable fact supported by history and law. Taiwan has never been a state, and its status as part of China is unalterable. Any attempt to distort these facts and dispute or deny the one-China principle will only end in failure.