BEIJING, August 3. /TASS/. US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan can only strengthen China's willpower and determination to complete the process of national reunification with the island, Professor Cui Shoujun, of the School of International Relations at the Renmin (People's) University of China in Beijing, told TASS in an interview on Wednesday.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The United States’ wrong course of action can only further strengthen China's willpower and determination to complete national reunification and accelerate the timetable for the reunification of the two coasts," he said.
"Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is a major incident that harms Sino-US relations," he said. "This visit is a serious violation of the One China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques. It dealt a serious blow to the political foundation of Sino-US relations and seriously encroached on China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," Cui said.
He also stressed that Pelosi's visit "will inevitably exacerbate tensions in the Taiwan Strait and in Sino-US relations."
Pelosi’s visit
On Tuesday evening, despite protests from Beijing, Pelosi arrived in Taiwan. Her visit was the first by a US politician of this rank in 25 years. On Wednesday, Pelosi completed her trip and left the island.
In 1997, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, Newt Gingrich, visited the island. His stay in Taipei lasted only three hours. He told the final news conference that the United States was using every opportunity to obstruct any attempt by mainland China to take over Taiwan by force or threat. Also, he promised to supply advanced US weapons to the island. This triggered a sharp reaction from Beijing. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson then expressed dissatisfaction with Gingrich’s statements, saying that the United States had no right to interfere in China's internal affairs, first and foremost, the Taiwan issue.
China has repeatedly warned the US that if Pelosi's trip to Taiwan takes place, it will not remain without consequences and that harsh measures will be taken.
Taiwan has been governed by its own administration since 1949, when the remnants of the Kuomintang forces under Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after being defeated in the Chinese civil war. Taipei has since retained the flag and some other attributes of the former Republic of China, which had existed on the mainland before the Communists came to power. According Beijing’s official position, supported by most countries, including Russia, it is one of China’s provinces.