Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on Wednesday expressed China's "resolute opposition" to a statement issued by US State Secretary Antony Blinken the day before. In his statement, Blinken said that Washington would "strongly encourage" the World Health Organization to invite Taiwan to participate in this year's World Health Assembly as an "observer".
Citing Taiwan's previous presence at the WHA during the Kuomintang administration, Blinken said that the US would continue promoting Taiwan again becoming a WHO observer. This, he claimed, is in line with the United States' one-China policy.
The Chinese spokesman reiterated that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China. As such, the political foundation for Taiwan participating in the WHA is non-existent given the insistence of the present authorities in Taipei on the island's "independent" status, their refusal to uphold the 1992 Consensus, and their sabotaging of the political foundation of cross-Strait consultations.
Blinken knows that Taiwan is at the heart of China's core interests, as well as the first redline in China-US relations that must not be crossed.
But he recklessly played the "Taiwan card "again. Washington dismisses the growing tensions over the Taiwan question and the fact that the Taiwan Strait is becoming an increasingly volatile geopolitical flashpoint.
Yet any party that truly hopes to see peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, any party that is truly dedicated to preserving the international order should abide by the one-China principle, and oppose all acts of "Taiwan independence".
One day earlier, during a joint news conference with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in Berlin, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reminded the world that Taiwan's return to China is "an inherent component of the post-WWII world order".
However, the latest spat between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan is only the tip of an iceberg of greater divergences in the changing global geopolitical landscape. It involves multiple complex factors, including but not limited to the two sides' longstanding differences on the matter, which are most prominent in those between Beijing's one-China principle and Washington's one-China policy.
Now that the US' approach is increasingly driven by the anti-Chinese bipartisan coalition in Congress, and Beijing is increasingly convinced of a Western plot to thwart its pursuit of peaceful reunification and confident of its ability to realize that by force, the risk of a confrontation is plain for all to see.
No matter how the independence-seekers in Taiwan try to make use of the Western antipathy to the mainland to further their cause, other stakeholders must maintain a clear head and avoid being involuntarily dragged into a worst-case scenario, which is avoidable, at least for now.
Taiwan's participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle as affirmed in the United Nations' resolutions. With the ruling Democratic Progressive Party authorities refusing to recognize the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA no longer exists.