China’s white paper on Taiwan spells out the facts

The issue of Taiwan has now received international attention after the recent visit to the territory by Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.

Basically, the controversy was confined to the United States and China, as the latter seeks to reclaim its legitimate territory on one side, while its adversary strives to undermine the reverting of the territory to the Chinese motherland. 

Titled, "The Taiwan Question and China's Reunification in the New Era", the white paper was released on Wednesday by the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

It seeks to counter the massive US and overall Western misinformation about the status of the territory and reiterate China’s resolve on reunification with its historical territory.

The comprehensive document answers the Taiwan question in five major parts covering the indisputable fact that Taiwan is part of China, the resolution of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to realize the country's complete reunification, the inevitability of China’s complete reunification, the place of national reunification in the New Era and, the fortunes arising from peaceful reunification.

The Chinese government has published two previous white papers on Taiwan. One was “The Taiwan Question and Reunification of China” in August 1993, and the other was “The One-China Principle and the Taiwan Issue” in February 2000. These two white papers are evidence of the authenticity of China’s unrelenting claims to the territory.

The bottom line of all three white papers is the sum total of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China, adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress (NPC) in December 1982, which categorically stipulated 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.”

Now, if China was simply out to annex a foreign land, it would not have gone to such pains to explain its position in a sober and peaceful manner.

Ironically, this subtle approach has angered the US, thus its constant provocation to push China to a military standoff, similar to the way the superpower gradually ignited the months-long Russia-Ukraine war. Still, China does not tire from seeking a rapprochement that ends in a win-win outcome for all parties involved.

The newly published white paper reiterates the yearning of China’s body politic – the CPC, the Chinese government, and the Chinese people - for Taiwan’s return in order to complete the country’s reunification, and catalyze the process of national rejuvenation. Through numerous Plenary Sessions and National Congresses since its formation in 1921, the CPC has explained its unambiguous policy on the Taiwan issue.

Significantly, China’s initiatives on Taiwan have been guided exclusively by peace and diplomacy. For selfish and malicious reasons, the US has avoided addressing the issues clearly spelt out in the three white papers, or other plausible standpoints on the reason Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.

The international community’s response to Pelosi’s visit buttresses the white paper’s position, terming the visit as an infringement on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a serious breach of international law and the basic principles governing international relations.

Specifically, there is convergence on the validity of the one-China policy as espoused by United Nations through Resolution 2758 of 1971. This pledge explicitly states that there is only one China, and the government of the PRC is the sole legitimate government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is part of China.

Based on this resolution, 181 countries, including the US, have established and developed diplomatic relations with PRC. Therefore, US belligerence on the Taiwan issue is not excusable. It can only be aimed at sabotaging the rejuvenation of the centuries-old Chinese nation, and derailing its unprecedented economic development for fear it will turn into a behemoth.

Even before offering any other justification on its right to Taiwan, it is a historical fact that the territory belongs to China. The white paper cites archeological discoveries of ancient cultural ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits. This history was distorted by China’s checkered history over the last few centuries, much of which consists of foreign meddling and invasion. The current conflict surrounding the Taiwan Straits is a legacy of its troubled past.

Instead of engaging in confrontation with its adversaries or coercion with the residents of the Taiwan Straits, China has provided broad space and great opportunities for cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation. This has created national appeal, particularly for the young generation, to seek more and even better opportunities in the motherland, thus crossing the ideological gap created by the US and its allies.

Taiwan is China’s prodigal son, and the sooner it returns to the motherland the better to save it from further alienation before it falls prey to the geopolitical wiles of the US Beware the wrath of a patient man, so the saying goes. The sparking of Chinese military exercises by Pelosi’s visit should be a sign of the times. Hell will have no fury like the eventuality of China’s patience wearing thin from constant provocation.

The writer is a PhD student in International Relations at USIU-Africa, and the Executive Director of South-South Dialogues, a Nairobi-based communication development think tank.