On August 23, the Permanent Representatives to the UN of Belize, the Kingdom of Eswatini, Guatemala, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and a few other countries released a joint statement on the Taiwan question and the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, making groundless accusations against China’s legitimate measures in safeguarding its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is a serious interference in China’s internal affairs. We firmly oppose and strongly condemn this joint statement.

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 reaffirmed by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The one-China principle represents the universal consensus of the international community. It is consistent with the basic norms of international relations. By maintaining “diplomatic relations” with Taiwan, countries issuing this joint statement have been seriously violating China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and interfering in China’s internal affairs. Already standing against the vast majority of countries around the world, now they have taken another wrong step by issuing such a fact-distorting statement.

In their joint statement, these countries claimed that “China’s continued military exercises surrounding Taiwan...put regional security at risk”. The measures China has taken, including military drills in waters and airspace off China’s Taiwan, are necessary response to the visit by Speaker of the US House of Representative Nancy Pelosi and other provocations by external forces. All these measures taken by China are justified, necessary and proportionate, and are in line with domestic and international laws as well as established international practices. The causes of the recent tensions in the Taiwan Strait are clear, so are the merits of the matter. China is not the one that stirred up the trouble or created the crisis. These countries turned a blind eye to the fact that external forces have recently undermined China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Instead, they unreasonably accused China of its legitimate measures. This only shows that they have lost the basic sense of right and wrong, as well as their impartiality and independence.

In their joint statement, these countries claimed that they wish the “status quo” can be maintained. But what is the status quo of the Taiwan question? Taiwan has never been a country, there is only one China in the world, and both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. This has been the status quo of the Taiwan question since ancient times. It must be pointed out that external forces like the US have been abetting and instigating the “Taiwan independence” forces to redouble their separatist efforts and repeatedly alter the status quo across the Strait. This is the fundamental reason behind the tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the grave challenges we now face. These countries also mentioned the so-called “median line”. They should know that Taiwan is part of China’s territory, and there is no such “median line” in the Taiwan Strait to begin with.

Their joint statement also claimed to “uphold the rules-based international order”. These countries should know that there is only one set of rules governing international relations, that is the basic norms underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. The Charter has laid out important principles such as respect for state sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs. By taking necessary measures to safeguard its state sovereignty and territorial integrity, China is not only exercising its sacred rights under international law, but also defending the basic norms governing international relations. If we allow these important principles, such as sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs, to be abandoned, we are allowing the world to again be ruled by the law of the jungle, and the superpower will become more reckless in bullying other countries. In that situation, the majority of developing countries and small and medium-sized countries will certainly be the ones who suffer the most. Countries like Belize have long suffered from colonialism and foreign intervention in the history. They should know full well how important it is to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and respect state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Yet now they are trying to confound black with white with no regard for facts. They are obviously standing on the wrong side against fairness and justice.

“Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.” A long-running feature of China’s foreign policy is to uphold sovereign equality and mutual respect. We are committed to working with all countries who love peace and uphold justice to jointly champion the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and safeguard regional stability and world peace. We urge countries releasing this joint statement to earnestly follow the one-China principle and the provisions of General Assembly Resolution 2758, and safeguard the authority of the UN Charter with concrete actions, instead of going further down the wrong path.

The position of the Chinese Government and people on the Taiwan question has been consistent. 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 shared aspiration and sacred responsibility of all Chinese to realize the complete reunification of the motherland. No country, no force and no individual should ever misestimate the firm resolve, strong will and great capability of the Chinese Government and people to defend state sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are fully confident and determined to achieve the complete reunification of the country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.