Beijing condemns US remarks on Taiwan status

A Chinese military spokesman on Thursday said separatist moves for "Taiwan independence" pose the gravest challenge to the postwar international order, voicing firm opposition to recent remarks by the United States on Taiwan's so-called "final political status."

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaogang made the remarks at a news conference, expressing strong opposition to recent comments by the American Institute in Taiwan and the US State Department suggesting that postwar documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation "did not determine Taiwan's final status."

He also criticized remarks made during the Taiwan authorities' mainland affairs head's visit to the US, who hyped up the mainland's so-called military threat.

"Such arguments turn black into white and deliberately mislead the public. China is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed," Zhang said.

He stressed that Taiwan's return to China is an integral part of the victory of World War II and the postwar international order.

Citing the Cairo Declaration in 1943, the Potsdam Proclamation in 1945 and Japan's Instrument of Surrender in 1945, Zhang said these internationally binding documents clearly affirmed China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

"As a signatory of the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, the US is fully aware of the historical and legal fact that Taiwan belongs to China, yet it has brazenly revived the fallacy of so-called 'undetermined status,'" he said.

Zhang said Washington slandered China's legitimate actions to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity, misleading international opinion, and seriously violating international law and the basic norms governing international relations, while sending the wrong signal to separatist forces seeking "Taiwan independence."

"'Taiwan independence' separatist activities pose the gravest challenge to the postwar international order and the biggest threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," he warned.

China urges the US to honor the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, stop manipulating Taiwan-related affairs, and stop condoning or supporting "Taiwan independence" in any form, Zhang said.

He also issued a stern warning to Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities: "'Taiwan independence' is a dead end, and reunification cannot be stopped. We will never allow any separatist attempt for 'Taiwan independence' to succeed, and we stand ready to defeat any external interference at any time to firmly safeguard national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity."