The US and Taiwan have made provocations together first, whereas China has been compelled to act in self-defense. Such a statement made Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying, while talking about the visit of Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.

“In recent years, the US has claimed that it is committed to the one-China policy, but action-wise, it has been backtracking, and even blurring and hollowing out the one-China principle. It has inserted into its characterization of the one-China policy the so-called “Taiwan Relations Act” and the “Six assurances”, which were unilaterally concocted and have never been recognized and have been firmly opposed to by China. The US has also gone against its commitment of maintaining non-official ties with the Taiwan region. It has upgraded its level of contact with Taiwan and has steadily increased arms sales to Taiwan.

Many people with insight both within and outside the US have seen this very clearly. They have repeatedly pointed out the danger of US actions. According to former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who said at this year’s World Economic Forum, “my understanding of the agreement has been that the US would uphold the principle of one China”, “I think it’s essential that these principles be maintained”, and “the US should not by subterfuge or a gradual process develop something of a two-China solution”. After news came out about Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan, many people, including those from mainstream media and think tanks in the US and former political leaders of some US allies, have publicly said that whatever reason Pelosi uses to visit Taiwan, it would be foolish, dangerous, and unnecessary; that it would be a dangerous gamble; that it would be hard to imagine anything more reckless and provocative than this; and that if the US side misjudges or mishandles the cross-Strait situation, it will lead to disastrous consequences for the Taiwan region and even the security, prosperity and order of the entire world.

The US has been following a strategy of using Taiwan to contain China. And based on this strategy, the US has supported and connived at Taiwan-independence separatist forces and has made deliberate provocations against China on the Taiwan question. It has been pushing the envelope on China’s red lines. The US and Taiwan have made provocations together first, whereas China has been compelled to act in self-defense. Any countermeasure to be taken by China would be a justified and necessary response to the US oblivion to China’s repeated démarches and the US’s unscrupulous behavior. And China is only exercising its right as any independent sovereign country would, not to mention that China is a country of more than 1.4 billion people with over 5,000 years of history. We hope that the US is clear-eyed about that”, - said Hua Chunying.