On December 31, 2025, an article by Ambassador Wu Wei titled “Firmly abide by the one-China principle” was published in The Kaselehlie Press, the bi-weekly newspaper in the FSM, in its Vol. 26 and Iss. 2. The full text is as follows: 

The year 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to China. On October 25, 80 years ago, the Chinese government held the surrender ceremony of Japanese forces in Taipei, Taiwan. Since then, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were formally reintegrated into China's territory. On October 25, 54 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 by an overwhelming majority, resolving the issue of representation for the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the United Nations. This year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China adopted a decision to designate October 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration through legal means. The Chinese people commemorate this special day in various ways. There is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and the one-China principle is a universally recognized basic norm governing international relations and a prevailing international consensus. The one-China principle is the fundamental prerequisite and political foundation for China to establish and develop relations with all other countries. Upholding the one-China principle is a universal consensus and is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends.

Why is Taiwan an inalienable part of China’s territory?

Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China's sacred territory since ancient times. The earliest Chinese records of Taiwan date back over 1,700 years. Following the Song and Yuan dynasties, successive Chinese central governments began establishing administrative jurisdictions in Penghu Islands and Taiwan. In 1895, Japan illegally seized Taiwan and the Penghu Islands from China through the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Throughout the half-century of Japanese colonial rule, the Taiwanese people's fervent determination to remain “proud Chinese” never wavered. They waged a steadfast struggle against the colonial authorities, sacrificing over 650,000 lives over five decades. Their blood and lives embodied the integrity and dignity of the Chinese people.

In 1941, the Chinese government issued a declaration of war against Japan, annulling all treaties, agreements, and contracts pertaining to Sino-Japanese relations. Under the banner of the Anti-Japanese National United Front advocated by the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people achieved a great victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression through bloody battles. In 1943, the governments of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom issued the Cairo Declaration, stating that “all the territories Japan stole from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands” should be returned to China. On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation, signed jointly by China, the United States, and the United Kingdom and later joined by the Soviet Union, reaffirmed that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.” On August 15 of the same year, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation and unconditional surrender. On September 2, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender, pledging to “faithfully fulfill the obligations of the provisions of the Potsdam Proclamation.” This series of documents reaffirmed under international law that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Taiwan’s return to China stands as a crucial component of the victory achieved by the Chinese people in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as an integral part of the post-war international order. This truth must never be distorted or denied.

The nature and origin of the Taiwan question

Shortly after the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Kuomintang ruling clique headed by Chiang Kai-shek launched a full-scale civil war, which resulted in their comprehensive defeat within just three years. In October 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded. By the end of that year, the Kuomintang ruling clique had retreated to Taiwan. Just as the People’s Liberation Army was preparing to liberate Taiwan, the Korean War broke out on June 25, 1950. Seizing the opportunity, the United States dispatched its forces into the Taiwan Straits to obstruct the liberation of Taiwan while propping up the Kuomintang regime. This intervention gave rise to the Taiwan question, which remains unresolved to this day.

On October 1, 1949, the Central People's Government of the People’s Republic of China was established, replacing the Government of the Republic of China as the sole legal government representing the whole of China. It was a change of government without changing China as the subject of international law. China’s sovereignty and inherent territorial boundaries stayed unchanged. Thus, the Government of the People’s Republic of China naturally and fully enjoys and exercises China’s sovereignty, including sovereignty over the Taiwan region. The Kuomintang ruling clique had no authority to exercise state sovereignty on behalf of China, and had been merely a local authority within Chinese territory.

Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been locked in a prolonged state of political confrontation, China’s sovereignty and territory have never been and shall never be divided, and the status of Taiwan as a part of China’s territory has never changed and shall never change. The Taiwan question arose as a result of the weakness and turmoil of our nation in the past and is a legacy of the Chinese civil war in the 1940s. It is entirely China’s internal affair, and will inevitably be resolved once and for all with the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The Taiwan question bears on China’s core interests and the national sentiments of the Chinese people, it must be properly resolved. How to resolve this issue is China's internal affair, and it can only and must be decided by the over 1.4 billion Chinese people, including our compatriots in Taiwan. Matters concerning Taiwan are China's internal affairs, no one or no external force has the right to interfere. 

Why should we uphold the one-China principle?

The one-China principle is a prevailing consensus in the international community, a basic norm governing international relations. On October 25, 1971, at the 26th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Resolution 2758 was adopted with an overwhelming majority, which “decides to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place where they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.”

The resolution solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle, and once again makes it clear that there is but one China in the world and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the only legitimate representative of the whole of China, including the Taiwan region. The UNGA Resolution 2758 completely precluded any possibility of creating “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.” It was clearly stated in the official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the U.N. Secretariat that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status” and the “‘authorities’ in ‘Taipei’ are not considered to ... enjoy any form of government status.” Taiwan does not have any right to join the UN, or any other international organization whose membership is confined to sovereign states. All member states of the United Nations should abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions, and should not in any way support Taiwan’s participation in the UN or other international organizations that are open only to sovereign states.

The one-China principle is the fundamental prerequisite and political foundation for China to establish and develop relations with all other countries. To date, China has established diplomatic relations with 183 countries, all of which have made solemn commitments to uphold the one-China principle as recorded in the joint communiqués on the establishment of diplomatic relations. “Without trust, one cannot stand; without sincerity, one cannot succeed.” All countries having diplomatic relations with China should unconditionally adhere to the one-China principle. China firmly opposes any form of official interactions between China’s Taiwan region and countries having diplomatic ties with China. The United States recently announced its large-scale arms sales to China’s Taiwan Region. In response to that, China has decided to take countermeasures in accordance with the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Countering Foreign Sanctions against 20 U.S. military-related companies and 10 senior executives who have engaged in arming Taiwan in recent years. The Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests and the first red line that must not be crossed in China－U.S. relations. Anyone who attempts to cross the line and make provocations on the Taiwan question will be met with China’s firm response. Any company or individual who engages in arms sales to Taiwan will pay the price for the wrongdoing. No country or force shall ever underestimate the resolve, will and ability of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. China has once again urged the U.S. to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, act on the commitment of the U.S. leader, stop the dangerous moves of arming Taiwan, stop undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, and stop sending wrong signals to “Taiwan independence” separatist forces.

36 years ago, the FSM recognizes the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the sole legal government of China in the Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the two countries. Over the past 36 years, the two countries have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other’s core interests. The FSM side pledges to firmly uphold the one-China principle, and recognizes that there is but one China in the world, that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The FSM firmly opposes “Taiwan independence” in all forms, and firmly supports China’s reunification. Like the FSM people, the Chinese people attach great importance to the concept of family. For the big family of Chinese, Taiwan is a long-lost son who will eventually return home. It should not be used as a pawn to serve others’ agenda. China and the FSM are good partners, good friends and good neighbors. We believe the FSM side can surely understand the Chinese people's aspiration for reunification, continue to firmly uphold the one-China principle, support China in safeguarding its core interests, jointly defend the outcomes of WWII victory and the post-war international order, and advance the China-FSM Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to new heights.