In total disregard of the firm opposition and repeated representations of the Chinese side and with the connivance and arrangement of the US government, Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi brazenly went ahead with the visit to China’s Taiwan region. This move seriously violated the one-China principle, seriously infringed on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and seriously undermined peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. It has aroused strong indignation among the 1.4 billion Chinese people and widespread opposition from the international community.

There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is part of China, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is not only a historical and legal fact that cannot be changed, but also at the core of the one-China principle that cannot be challenged. The one-China principle is a basic norm of international relations confirmed by UNGA Resolution 2758, and a commitment made by the US in the three China-US Joint communiqués. There is no room for ambiguity or arbitrary interpretation. Recently, more than 170 countries have spoken out, reaffirming their firm commitment to the one-China principle and expressing their support for China in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity. This is the unified voice of justice of the international community, and they form an overwhelming majority versus the US and its few followers.

It is the US that is seeking to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and causing the situation to escalate; it is the US that has made wanton provocations; and it is the US that has acted irresponsibly. China has made utmost diplomatic efforts. We has time and again warned the US through various channels and at various levels of the grave nature and severe harm of this visit, and made it clear that all consequences arising therefrom must be borne by the US. However, the US and Pelosi have chosen to pursue the wrong course of action in disregard of China’s dissuasion and warnings. 

China has acted in legitimate self-defense only after the US made this egregious provocation. The countermeasures taken by China are both a warning to the provocateurs and a legitimate step to uphold sovereignty and territorial integrity, which are consistent with China’s domestic law, the international law and established international practices. The US has been going down a wrong path which deviates from its commitment to the one-China principle, and yet it accuses China of escalating the situation. This is totally confounding right with wrong and deflecting blame.

The Taiwan question is purely an internal affair of China that brooks no foreign interference. China has no room for compromise or concession on the Taiwan question, which bears on China’s core interests of sovereignty and territorial integrity. To resolutely uphold the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China is the firm will of the 1.4 billion Chinese people. To realize the complete reunification of China is the trend of the times and an inevitability of history, as well as the collective will of the Chinese nation. It’s hoped that the people from all walks of life in Victoria and Tasmania can fully acknowledge the ins and outs, nature and status quo of the Taiwan question, fully understand and respect the aspirations and efforts of the Chinese people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity and realize the complete unification of the nation, and jointly maintain peace in the region and across the Taiwan Strait.