Taiwan and Ukraine not comparable situations: China Daily editorial

By interfering in the Taiwan question, some Western countries seek to disrupt the nation's reunification and the country's development. Their provocative acts in support of the secessionists on the island have increased tensions and posed a severe threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits.

With conflict erupting in Ukraine, these ill-intentioned people are deliberately trying to draw a parallel between Taiwan and what is happening in Ukraine. But as State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing annual sessions of the country's top legislature and top political advisory body on Monday, the two situations are "not at all comparable", as Taiwan is a domestic matter for China, while the Ukraine conflict is a dispute between two countries.

"We have seen that some people emphasize the principle of sovereignty on the Ukraine issue, but continue to undermine China's sovereignty and territorial integrity on the Taiwan question. This is a naked double standard," he said.

Taiwan's "mainland affairs council", in trying to conflate the Taiwan question with the Ukraine crisis, claimed that it is the Chinese mainland's military threats, diplomatic pressure and attempts to "assault" the island that are the cause of tensions.

Yet that belies the reality.

The tensions, as Wang made clear, are caused by the Tsai Ing-wen administration's refusal to accept that the island is part of China.

In resisting reunification by instigating confrontation and working hand-in-glove with foreign forces led by the United States that seek to exploit the cross-Straits frictions in their attempts to contain China's development, the Tsai administration is ruining the island's future and endangering national rejuvenation.

Apart from frequently sending warships to sail through the Taiwan Straits, the US has repeatedly sold arms to the island and staged one political farce after another to covertly or overtly support "Taiwan independence" in open defiance to the one-China principle. For the US, the Taiwan question is a means to rally regional allies in its bid to create a NATO-like mechanism that can reinforce its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific.

Contrary to the claims of bullying, the Chinese mainland has constantly promoted cross-Straits exchanges and sought to share its development opportunities with Taiwan compatriots and enterprises in its efforts to promote peaceful reunification.

It is the connivance between the authorities on the island and the US that is hindering the efforts to promote peaceful reunification of the island with the motherland.

Yet their bid to create the false impression that the island has a sovereign identity has only reinforced Beijing's commitment to "resolve the Taiwan question in the new era", as stated in this year's Government Work Report, which was issued on Saturday.

No one should doubt the nation's capability to act on that resolve.