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The Chinese envoy in Washington on Wednesday called on the United States to stop selling advanced weapons and sending “the wrong signals” to Taiwan, warning that bilateral ties could suffer if the Taiwan issue was not handled properly.
China “will never tolerate Taiwan's independence or allow anyone to separate Taiwan from the motherland … through any means,” Chinese ambassador Zhou Wenzhong said in a rare speech in Washington.
Addressing a forum of the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, Zhou said that the Taiwan issue was “the most important and sensitive issue at the core of China-US relations” and was “crucial” to the stability and development of bilateral ties and cooperation.
He attacked Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, charging that he was becoming “more reckless and dangerous” by pursuing independence.
Zhou urged the United States to “honor and adhere” to its one-China policy and “stop selling advanced weapons to Taiwan and stop sending wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces.”
“We hope that the US side will work with China to oppose and repulse any form of Taiwan independence activities by the Chen Shui-bian authorities to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan strait and safeguard the shared strategic interests of both our countries,” Zhou said.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory and has repeatedly threatened to invade the island should it declare formal independence.
Washington switched diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, but remains the leading arms supplier to Taiwan and is legally obliged to offer the island a means of self-defense if its security is threatened.
Earlier this month, the United States called Chen's pledge to push for independence “unhelpful” and reiterated its stance against independence for the island.
“The Taiwan questions bears on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China, involves China's core national interest and touches upon the national sentiments of the Chinese people,” Zhou said.
He cited a 1995 visit by then Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui to the United States which angered Beijing and led to the recall of its US ambassador for four months.
“If we take a look at the history of our relations since normalization, I think the conclusion is that whenever the question of Taiwan is handled appropriately, the relations betwen us made steady progress and whenever … not handled appropriately, the relations suffered setbacks,” he said.
“So what I am trying to say is that the question needs to be handled with great care, great caution and the United States has a commitment to China … and the essence of that is one China,” he said.
“And we hope the United States government will honor its commitment to China, not only in words but also in deeds,” he said.
Zhou fielded a range of questions, including China's military build up and Beijing-led efforts to end North Korea nuclear weapons drive.
He said the world had nothing to fear about the build up as China maintained a strategy of “peaceful development” and “peaceful coexistence” while beefing up its forces only to face any “possible threats.”
Furthermore, he said any additional defense spending was aimed at making up for military cutbacks mostly in the 1980's, when China concentrated on economic growth.
