Taiwan’s new leader Lai, should not be used by foreign interests to betray the people of China

Published: January 16,2024

By Gerald Mbanda 

On Saturday, Taiwan elected Lai Ching of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as the new leader replacing Tsai Ing-wen of the same party. Although the DPP won the leadership position, it did not win majority seats in the legislature; an indication that majority voters are not comfortable with the party in power.  Lai who won by a marginal 40.1% of the vote may not find it easy to take some key policy decisions without majority support of the legislature. 

Both Lai and his predecessor Tsai, are very close to the US administration since they claim that Taiwan is “already a sovereign, independent country,” a statement which even the US administration is shy to pronounce publicly. It is a known fact that historically and by law, Taiwan is an indisputable territory of China and the claim of Taiwan sovereignty and independence is misguided. 

The UN resolution 2758 adopted during its 26th session the United Nations General Assembly of October 1971,  undertook “to restore all its rights to the firmly recognizes the One-China Principle where Taiwan is considered as a region of China and does not have the status of a sovereign state as DPP leadership claims.  The One-China Principle is agreed upon by many countries in the world including the US which has diplomatic relations with China. 

In 1978, the US and China signed The China-US Joint Communiqué on the establishment of Diplomatic relations which clearly spells out that Taiwan is part of China. This position has not changed neither has the US revoked its commitment to the communiqué. The joint communiqué states that, “The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.” Again the communiqué clarifies that, “The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. With this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan.”

History is stubborn as it always exposes the hypocrisy of the US and other western countries on the Taiwan question. On December 1, 1943, China, US, and United Kingdom issued The Cairo declaration which stated that all China territories that had been stolen by Japan namely; Taiwan, Penghu Islands and Northeast China should be returned to China. Subsequently, the Potsdam Proclamation of July 26^th 1945, also signed by the three countries, reaffirmed the execution of the Cairo Declaration. 

Despite the commitments by the US administration in the Joint communiqué to recognize the One-China Principle; in practice, the US has for decades violated the communiqué by supporting secessionists in Taiwan. The US may consider a reunified China as a threat to its strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region, and as such works tirelessly to undermine China unification by using Taiwan to contain China. 

The congratulatory messages sent to Lai by foreign leaders do not mean any good for the Chinese people. They simply confirm an agenda by foreign powers to break China apart. When the US supplies arms to Taiwan in contravention of the “joint Communiqué” and international law, the United Nations should stand up and condemn such provocation. To the people of China, it gives a clear signal of the desire to provoke a proxy war against China using Taiwan.  

The claim by Lai and Tsai Ing-wen on the sovereignty of Taiwan is in violation of the Constitution of China which recognizes that, “Taiwan is part of the sacred territory of the People’s Republic of China. It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan to accomplish the great task of reunifying the motherland.” 

The DPP leaders should hold dear the interests of the Chinese people and understand that Western countries are only interested in using them to destroy their own country in the same way they are doing to Ukraine today. The West is sending weapons and financial aid to Ukraine, but this has not helped much, and Ukraine has been badly destroyed. 

Many Chinese friends I have talked to, believe that China is no longer the weak country it was when Japan stole Taiwan. China today has superior military capabilities as a super power; it is economically strong and politically well organized and stable. All Chinese Patriotic people are ready to stand and defend their country from any foreign maneuvers aimed at breaking their country apart. The rise of China is like a fast flowing river coming from a high mountain going down to the valley, whose force removes all the obstacles that tend to stop the flow of the river. 

Mr. Lai should know that he is being lured into a dangerous trap of betraying his motherland by surrendering it to foreigners similar to the Biblical Esau who surrendered his precious inheritance for a bowl of soup. 

The Author is a researcher and publisher on China governance, development and relations with the rest of the world.