China's Ambassador to Cyprus condemns Pelosi's Taiwan visit

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to China’s Taiwan region is a gross interference in China’s internal affairs, a major event upgrading the substantive relations between the US and Taiwan, and sends a very wrong signal to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces, says the Spokesperson of the Embassy of China in Cyprus, in a written statement.

In a reference to Cyprus, the spokesperson says that "neither China nor Cyprus is entirely reunified till today. National unity is both our countries’ shared core concern and mission. External interference has been the biggest roadblock to the settlement of the Taiwan question and the Cyprus Problem, which the Cypriot people know better than anyone else."

The spokesperson describes the visit as a serious violation of the one-China principle and the provisions in the three Sino-US Joint Communiqués, adding that “it has dealt a severe blow to the political foundation of China-US relations, seriously infringed upon China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and gravely undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

“The Chinese side has recently and repeatedly made its firm and strong opposition crystal clear to the US side at various levels. The Chinese side will make a resolute response and take strong countermeasures to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The US side chose to carry on the visit despite all the warnings, therefore it must bear all the consequences arising therefrom”, the statement reads.

The Spokesperson notes that 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 is at the core of the one-China principle, which has become a basic norm in international relations and a universal consensus of the international community. It is on this basis of recognizing the one-China principle that 181 countries, including the US, have established diplomatic relations with China”, it says.

The statement points out that in 1979, the US made a clear commitment in the Sino-US Joint Communiqués on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations that “the United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China”.

“The one-China principle is the centerpiece of the three Sino-US Joint Communiqués and the premise and foundation for the establishment and development of diplomatic relations between China and the US. Each composition of the US Government, including the administrative, legislative and judicial arms, is obliged to follow the foreign policy which the US government has recognized and been committed to”, the statement reads.

The Chinese Embassy in Cyprus notes also that Nancy Pelosi is the incumbent Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and ranks second in the US presidential line of succession. “Her visit to Taiwan, in whatever form, under whatever pretext and at whatever time during her tenure, is a serious violation of the one-China policy as committed by the US Government, marking a major political provocation in upgrading the official interactions and substantive relations between the US and Taiwan, and signaling connivance and support for 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces”.

The statement underlines that in the face of the total ignorance of China’s repeated representations and reckless actions by the US, “any countermeasures taken by China will be justified and necessary”.