Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times.
Its reunification with the Chinese motherland is not only the common aspirations of the 1.4 billion Chinese people, but also an unstoppable process in trend driven by historical progression and justice.
The unbreakable bond between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland has solid historical and legal foundations.
A large number of ancient records and annals document the development of Taiwan by the Chinese people in earlier periods.
New archaeological discoveries and research findings regularly attest to the profound ties between the two sides across the Taiwan Strait.
The earliest references to this effect are to be found, among others, in Seaboard Geographic Gazetteer compiled by Shen Ying of the State of Wu in the year 230 during the ancient Three Kingdoms Period.
The royal court of the Sui Dynasty had on three occasions sent troops to Taiwan, then called Liuqiu.
Starting from the Song and Yuan dynasties, the imperial governments of China set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Penghu and Taiwan, marking the start of formal administration by the central government.
In 1684, the Qing Dynasty set up the Taiwan Prefecture administration under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province, and in 1885, Taiwan became China’s 20th province.
General Zheng Chenggong’s expulsion of the Dutch colonialists from Taiwan in 1662, and China’s resumption of sovereignty over Taiwan in 1945 after the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, have formed an unbroken chain of proof that China’s governance over Taiwan has never ceased, and Taiwan’s status as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory is beyond any doubt.
Since October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China, by bashing the previous Kuomintang regime to Taiwan, has become the only legitimate government of the whole of China, exercising full sovereignty of China, which definitely includes Taiwan.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victories of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, of the World Anti-Fascist War, and the restoration of Taiwan, which is a landmark triumph of the World War II and constitutes an integral part of the post-war international order.
Hence, Taiwan’s status as part of Chinese territory has never changed and will never be allowed to change.
International covenants further reinforce this fact.
The Cairo Declaration issued by China, the United States and the United Kingdom on December 1, 1943 stated 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 on July 26, 1945 reiterated that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.
” In September of the same year, Japan signed the instrument of surrender in which it promised to faithfully fulfill the obligations laid down in the Potsdam Proclamation.
The Government of China then announced on October 25 that it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan.
From that point forward, China has recovered Taiwan both de jure and de facto through a host of practical measures and legal documents.
The United Nations General Assembly, at its 26th session in October 1971, adopted Resolution 2758, which undertook “to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.
” Resolution 2758 is a political-cum-legal document encapsulating the One China principle whose legal authority has been recognized worldwide.
Taiwan thus does not have any ground, reason, or right to join the UN, or any other international organizations whose membership is confined to sovereign states.
This resolution settled once and for all the political, legal and procedural issues of China’s representation in the UN, and also spelled out that China has one single seat in the UN.
It was precisely stated in the official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the UN Secretariat that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status,” and “the authorities in Taipei are not considered to… enjoy any form of government status.
” Consequently there is no such thing as “two China” or “one China, one Taiwan.
” China’s sovereignty over Taiwan is not only supported by historical facts, but reaffirmed through international covenants.
Although the two sides across the Taiwan Strait have yet to be reunified, the fact that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China and that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China has never and will not be changed.
In recent years the Democratic Progressive Party authorities on Taiwan are hellbent on seeking the so-called “Taiwan independence,” and pursue this malicious agenda to sabotage the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China.
The DPP authorities leverage the “diplomatic allies” to serve its political gains, attempting to violate China’s core interests, and change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
Though it is doomed to fail, and the illusion of playing Taiwan card against China goes in vain, the Chinese people have to remain vigilant, as Taiwan is at the core of China’s national interests, and the first red line that cannot be crossed.
Pakistan has been a staunch supporter of the One China principle on Taiwan.
In the pivotal 1971 UNGA vote to restore China’s seat, Pakistan sponsored and even championed Resolution 2758.
Then Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto declared at the UN that “China’s lawful seat must be restored; this is a victory for justice.
” When China introduced the Anti-Secession Law in 2005, Pakistan explicitly supported “China’s efforts to safeguard national reunification.
” Decades later, Pakistan remains firm on and is committed to this noble cause.
President Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have stated in public that Pakistan “will always support China’s core position on Taiwan, as it is an inalienable part of China.
” Both nations are on one page that sovereignty and territorial integrity are the cornerstones of national independence and development.
This brotherly solidarity showcases Pakistan’s resolve to defend its own sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Likewise, China holds firm on its policy position on Taiwan, and renders all possible support to Pakistan in safeguarding the latter’s independence, security and development, underlying the beauty of the iron-clad brotherhood and the all-weather friendship between the two countries.
With inception of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, China and Pakistan have further deepened their longstanding friendship and the trustworthy partnership.
Eighty years back, China won the great war of the anti-Japanese aggression.
Eight decades later, China, together with Pakistan and other countries in the world, will celebrate this grand victory to ensure the post-World War II international order, legal framework, and the UN-centric multilateral system.
When developing diplomatic relations with China,183 countries today have recognized the One China principle on Taiwan.
The Chinese government commits itself, in greatest earnest and sincerity, to a peaceful reunification with Taiwan.
At the same time, the Chinese people are strongly opposed to “Taiwan independence” and can’t and won’t renounce any resolute measures, including the use of non-peaceful means, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
China is the only major country within the United Nations Security Council that has not seen its full unification materialized yet.
The resolution of the Taiwan question, peaceful or otherwise, is an essential step in building the Chinese modernization and fulfilling the Chinese dream of the great national rejuvenation.
It is also relevant to upholding the principles of equal sovereignty, fairness and justice enshrined in the UN Charter.
The Chinese people are convinced that the historical wheel of Taiwan’s reunification with the Chinese motherland will roll forward and the noble objective ultimately achieved, as this worthy endeavor stands on the right side of the history, and the choice is to right the historical wrong.
