BEIJING, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Thursday criticized the remarks on Taiwan by an anonymous U.S. State Department official, saying they are a reflection of typical U.S. arrogance and hegemonism.
According to media reports, the U.S. official said China is using Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.
The U.S. official was calling black white and acted like "thief crying stop thief," Hua said.
She asked the U.S. side four questions.
The first is: what is the status quo on the Taiwan question? Hua said it is crystal clear that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China, and Taiwan is part of China's territory.
Although the two sides have been politically against each other for a long time, China's sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been split. This is the real status quo of the Taiwan question, she added.
The second question is who is creating the crisis across the Taiwan Strait. Hua said the United States has colluded with "Taiwan independence" separatist forces to make provocations, and that is the fundamental reason for tensions across the Taiwan Strait.
In recent years, the Democratic Progressive Party authorities abandoned the 1992 Consensus embodying the one-China principle and solicited U.S. support in seeking "Taiwan independence." Meanwhile, the U.S. side, in pursuing its strategic aim of containing China's development, has constantly distorted, obscured and hollowed out the one-China principle, upgraded its level of exchanges with Taiwan, and intensified arms sales to Taiwan.
Hua said Pelosi's visit to Taiwan gravely violated the commitments made by the U.S. government to China on the Taiwan question, violated the basic norms governing international relations and infringed upon China's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"Who is responsible for tensions across the Taiwan Strait?" Hua asked. She said China has repeatedly pointed out the severity of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and made it clear that the U.S. must assume full responsibility for any ensuing consequences.
Hua said the U.S. side made provocations first, whereas China has been compelled to act in self-defense. The Chinese government has the right to do everything necessary to firmly defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The fourth question is: who is changing the status quo on the Taiwan question. Hua said the wrongful actions made by the U.S. side 25 years ago do not constitute a precedent to defend Pelosi's visit, and still less, should it become an excuse for the U.S. to repeat its mistake on the Taiwan question.
China will not allow the United States to continue nibbling at, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle in a gradual way, and will never allow the U.S. side to gradually change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait for any reason or excuse.
The current tensions across the Taiwan Strait, as a result of Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, are entirely of the U.S.' own making, the spokesperson said, adding that if the U.S. side truly wants to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, the most important point is to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, both in words and deeds. ■
