In April of this year, General Secretary Xi Jinping of the Communist Party of China (CPC) met in Beijing with a delegation from the Kuomintang, led by Chairwoman Zheng Liwen, and delivered an important speech outlining the direction of relations between the two parties and the relationship across the Taiwan Strait. In May, U.S. President Trump made a state visit to China. These two significant events once again drew the world's attention to a key issue: the issue of Taiwan. The historical and legal fact that Taiwan is a part of China, and that both sides of the Strait belong to one China, cannot be changed by anyone or any force.

Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times—the historical records are clear, and the legal facts are undeniable. In 230 AD, during the Three Kingdoms period, King Sun Quan of the Wu kingdom sent officials and soldiers to Taiwan (then known as Yizhou). After the Song and Yuan dynasties, the central governments of Chinese dynasties established administrative organs on Penghu and Taiwan, exercising administrative jurisdiction over them. In 1684, the Qing Dynasty government established Taiwan Prefecture, subordinate to Fujian Province. In 1885, the Qing Dynasty designated Taiwan as a separate province.

When Japan launched a full-scale war of aggression against China in 1937, the anti-Japanese struggles in Taiwan became an important part of the Chinese people's national resistance. In 1943, the governments of China, the United States, and Great Britain issued the Cairo Declaration, which explicitly stated that "all territories Japan has taken from China must be restored to China," thereby clearly affirming that Taiwan has always been a part of China. In 1945, Taiwan was returned to China and incorporated back into Chinese territory—just as France regained Alsace-Lorraine from German occupation, this was an important result of the victory in World War II. The indivisibility of territory, the unity of the state, the cohesion of the nation, and the continuity of civilization are the common beliefs of the Chinese people.

The One China principle is a universal consensus of the international community. In 1971, the 26th United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, which decided to restore all the rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, recognized that the representative of the Chinese government is the only legitimate representative of China in the United Nations, and immediately expelled the representatives of the Kuomintang from all positions they had unlawfully held in the United Nations and its organs.

This resolution completely and definitively resolved the issue of the representation of the entire China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations. Resolution 2758 of the General Assembly clearly affirmed that there is only one China in the world, and completely ruled out any possibility of creating a "two Chinas" or a "one China, one Taiwan" scenario. The adoption of the resolution reflects the fact that the political principles and the rights and obligations enshrined in the One China principle have achieved international consensus and are recognized and supported by the vast majority of UN member states.

To date, 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China based on the One China principle, and these relations are being further developed. In recent years, an increasing number of countries and international organizations have explicitly declared their firm opposition to any form of "Taiwan independence" while reaffirming the One China principle.

Following the China-U.S. summit, President Trump clearly stated in an interview that "he does not want to see Taiwan go down the path of independence." In the multilateral sphere, after the adoption of Resolution 2758, relevant specialized agencies of the United Nations have adopted formal resolutions (e.g., World Health Assembly resolution 25.1), which restore the legitimate representation of the People's Republic of China and exclude representatives of Taiwan authorities. The World Trade Organization, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Asian Development Bank, and others have, in accordance with the one-China principle, adjusted Taiwan's participation in their activities under the name "Chinese Taipei."

On May 18 of this year, the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) decided, for the tenth consecutive time, to reject the so-called "Taiwan proposal." All of this clearly demonstrates that the international order, in which the one-China principle is firmly upheld, is unshakeable and unwavering. Any attempts to split China are not only doomed to isolation but also directly contradict the mainstream expectations of the international community.

The one-China principle is the cornerstone of the healthy and stable development of China-Czech relations. Adherence to the one-China principle is the political basis for establishing diplomatic relations between China and the Czech Republic, and it is also a political commitment that the Czech Republic has made to China. All those who exercise public power in the Czech Republic should respect this political commitment.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the establishment of China-Czech strategic partnership. Since the formation of the new Czech government, it has adopted a rational and pragmatic approach towards China, firmly upholding the one-China policy, and thereby laying a good foundation for opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. However, some Czech politicians, for purely personal reasons, have openly defied the will of the government and arbitrarily traveled to Taiwan—this is a deliberate violation of China's sovereignty, a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, a serious breach of the political commitment made by the Czech side on the issue of one China, and a deliberate undermining of the political foundation of China-Czech relations.

The Chinese side has the full right to resolutely oppose this. Their words and actions cannot change the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, they cannot change the fact that the one-China principle reflects the will of the people and is an irreversible historical trend, and even less can they stop the historical trend towards the inevitable reunification of China. We hope that the Czech side will stand on the right side of history and on the side of international consensus, consistently uphold the one-China principle, and take practical steps to protect the overall development of China-Czech relations.

Zuo Wenxing, CHARGÉ D´AFFAIRES AD INTERIM of the Chinese Embassy