BEIJING, March 16 (Xinhuanet) -- Chinese Vice Foreign
Minister Li
Zhaoxing summoned U.S. Ambassador to China Clark T. Randt
here
Saturday, making solemn representations with the U.S. government
on its recent acts of interfering in China's internal affairs and
undermining China-U.S. relations.
Li said that several
days ago, the U.S. government allowed
Taiwan's so-called "defense
minister" Tang Yiau-min to visit the
United States to attend a
meeting. U.S. deputy defense secretary
and some other U.S. government
officials even met Tang and
discussed with him matters including the
situation across the
Taiwan Straits.
According to some
reports, the U.S. side is now considering to
allow the visit to the
U.S. by another military official of Taiwan,
and to agree to a tour by
Lee Teng-hui, the notorious "trouble-
maker", in the near
future.
What is more, Li said, the "Nuclear Posture
Review" submitted
to the Congress recently by the U.S. Department of
Defense openly
stated that nuclear weapons would be used in the event
of military
confrontation in the Taiwan Straits.
In a
short time of slightly more than a month, the U.S. side
has done so
many wrong things that trample upon the spirit of the
U.N. Charter and
the principle of the three Sino-U.S. Joint
Communiques, interfere in
China's internal affairs and hurt the
national sentiments of the
Chinese people, Li said, stressing that
the Chinese government and
people hereby express their strong
indignation and firm
opposition.
Li said that the question of Taiwan, which
bears on China's
sovereignty and territorial integrity, is the most
important and
most sensitive issue at the heart of China-U.S.
relations. The U.S.
side must honor the explicit commitments it has
made to the
Chinese government and people in the three Sino-U.S. Joint
Communiques.
However, the U.S. side is acting stubbornly and
arbitrarily in
continuing to sell sophisticated weapons to Taiwan,
pampering such
figures as Lee Teng-hui, upgrading U.S.-Taiwan relations
and
inflating the arrogance of the separatist forces in Taiwan, Li
said.
"People can not but ask: to where does the U.S.
side intend to
lead China-US relations," he said, "You talked about
hoping to see
a peaceful settlement between the two sides of the Taiwan
Straits.
Is what you are doing promoting peace? You repeatedly said
that
the United States pursues a one-China policy and abides by the
three Sino-U.S. Joint Communiques. Is any part of your acts
mentioned above consistent with these Joint
Communiques?"
Li said China has all along stood for the
complete prohibition
and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and
maintained that
nuclear weapon states should unconditionally undertake
not to be
the first to use nuclear weapons or use or threaten to use
nuclear
weapons against non-nuclear weapon states and nuclear weapon
free
zones. China and the U.S. also reached agreement on mutual
non-
targeting of their nuclear weapons. The U.S. side has also
indicated on many occasions that it has no intention to threaten
China.
"Then why all this nuclear sabre-rattling at
the Chinese people?
" Li said.
He noted that Taiwan has
been an inalienable part of Chinese
territory since ancient times. To
realize reunification of the
motherland has been the common aspiration
of all the Chinese
people, Taiwan compatriots included. It is an
inevitable trend
that no one can resist, Li said.
"Pampering and supporting 'Taiwan independence' can only
meet
with the resolute opposition of all the Chinese people and will
be
doomed to failure," Li said.
Describing the Taiwan
question as "a burden on the back of the
United States for more than
half a century", Li said that "keeping
it on the back will do no good
to the United States, for it may
end up like lifting a rock only to
drop it on one's own toes."
It is more advisable for the
U.S. side to follow the trends of
history and give up the policy of
taking Taiwan as an "unsinkable
aircraft-carrier" and using the Taiwan
question to interfere in
China's internal affairs, so that the
constructive and cooperative
relationship between China the United
States will be better served
and so will world peace and stability, Li
said.
The Chinese people love peace and sincerely hope to
live in
peace and treat each other as equals with all peoples in the
world.
China does not pose a threat to any country. The Chinese people
have never interfered in the internal affairs of the United
States
nor have they done anything to harm the American people, Li
said.
"At the same time, we must let the handful of
political
paranoids know that the Chinese people will never yield to
any
outside intimidation, including nuclear blackmail," he said.
"The time when the Chinese people were bullied has long
gone.
In the world today, it is a very proud thing to be a Chinese,"
he
said.
"If there is anything good in threatening the Chinese
people,
it can only be one thing: the Chinese people's vigilance
against
certain people will be further heightened, their determination
to
safeguard the motherland's sovereignty, territorial integrity and
national dignity will be greatly enhanced," Li said.
He pointed out that it has not been accidental for China and
the
United States to develop friendship and cooperation in such
fields as
economy, trade, politics and fight against terrorism in
good time and
bad over the past 30 years .
"The West has a saying that
makes a lot of sense: there is no
free lunch," he said. "Both history
and reality tell us that China-
U.S. relationship has always been a
two-way street and serve both
sides. It is not a favor that one gives
to the other."
Only when the three Joint Communiques are
strictly observed and
the question of Taiwan properly handled can there
be stability and
growth in the relationship, he said.
The principles enshrined in the three Joint Communiques
constitute the
political basis of China-U.S. relations. The U.S.
government also made
serious commitments therein.
"The East also has a saying
that fits into the situation here:
a man who is not trustworthy cannot
stand. How can a nation stand
on its feet among the community of
nations if it does not honor
its own words?" Li said.
The talented and hardworking Chinese people will never tolerate
outside
interference in their internal affairs while allowing a
small number
of people in America, who cling to the Cold-War
mentality, confound
the right for the wrong and take a friend for
an enemy, to cash in, he
said.
