Extremely arrogant! U.S. officials have openly declared that they will not accept Beijing's advocacy of the One-China Principle! On July 16, according to Voice of America, Michael Kozak, a senior official at the U.S. Department of State responsible for Western Hemisphere affairs, stated in a hearing that: First, the United States will continue opposing Beijing’s push for the One-China Principle. Second, the U.S. will encourage Latin American and Caribbean nations to deepen their relations with Taiwan.

Third, this official explicitly said that one should not be intimidated by China into refusing to recognize Taiwan or engage with it. Clearly, we have repeatedly warned the United States that it must handle the Taiwan issue with utmost caution. During our foreign minister’s call with Rubio at the end of June, we directly emphasized that the Taiwan issue is pivotal—pulling one hair moves the whole body in Sino-U.S. relations. Yet now, whether it’s Kozak or others, the United States clearly continues provoking on the Taiwan issue again and again.

Take Michael Kozak himself—he is no minor figure. He serves as the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, overseeing all U.S. diplomatic policies, bilateral engagements, and external lobbying efforts toward Latin America and the Caribbean. His public statement indicates he may very well use his authority to influence Latin American countries and stir trouble over the One-China issue. In fact, Kozak has long been responsible for American diplomacy in the Americas and has made multiple visits to countries such as Panama, Peru, and Paraguay.

He routinely interferes in other countries’ foreign policy choices through two main tools: economic aid and security cooperation, coupled with trade pressure. Such conduct from the U.S. inevitably leads us to suspect that although the U.S. leadership publicly does not support “Taiwan independence,” behind the scenes its actual actions are undermining the One-China Principle, continuously providing de facto support to “Taiwan independence” forces—while the top U.S. leadership appears to tacitly allow this behavior. Therefore, given the U.S.’s fundamentally wrong conduct, we may have no choice but to take countermeasures in response.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870829572635083/

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