Chinese embassy – US Speaker Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan a threat to regional security
This handout taken and released by Taiwan’s Presidential Office on August 3, 2022 shows US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi waving beside Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The Chinese Embassy in Thailand said today (Wednesday) that the visit to Taiwan by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a serious threat to regional security and will push China-US relations toward confrontation and rivalry.
It also said that China believes Thailand, as a long-time friend, will abide by the international principle of justice and will support China’s efforts to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, supporting the “One China Policy” and defending peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
In a statement, issued today to coincide with Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan, the Chinese Embassy claimed that Taiwan, which is the “largest island of China”, has been an inseparable part of China since the Song dynasty in the 10th century AD and that Beijing has been the sole legitimate government.
It said that, in 1971, the UN General Assembly recognised the Chinese government in Beijing as a sole representative of China and, in 1978, China and the US established diplomatic relations and issued a joint communique, under which the US government recognises Beijing as the legitimate government of China and China’s stand that Taiwan is a part of China.
The embassy accused Washington of flip-flopping on its foreign policy towards China, with President Joe Biden promising US recognition of the One China Policy while US Speaker Pelosi is visiting Taiwan.
It branded Pelosi’s trip as provocative and abetting influential elements that want to separate Taiwan from China. It also accused Washington of using Taiwan as a pawn to undermine development in China, in order to retain its supremacy and hegemony.
Confrontation between China and the US will increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait and could lead to more serious consequences for peace and stability in the region, said the statement, as it urged the US to stop playing this “political game”.
US National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby said there was no reason for Pelosi to spark a crisis or conflict.
He reiterated that the trip was consistent with the US’s long-standing policy towards China and did not violate the country’s sovereignty.
