US cautioned it should handle Taiwan question with kid gloves: China Daily editorial

In his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome on Sunday, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi reiterated that the Taiwan question is the most sensitive issue between China and the United States.

He also once again warned of the damage that would be done to bilateral relations if the US mishandles it. Wang's warning should not fall on deaf ears as it does not come out of the blue. Although Blinken said that the US has not changed its one-China policy in relation to Taiwan, this was nothing new. Each time some rhetoric from the current US administration draws speculation that the country no longer sticks to the one-China policy, the US hastily denies it.

Yet since taking office, the Joe Biden administration has demonstrated a growing penchant to play the "Taiwan card" to try and keep Beijing on the back foot in the two sides' supposed competition. It is high time the US lived up to its commitments on the one-China policy, rather than saying one thing and doing another.

For despite Blinken's claim that it is China that has increased tensions with regard to the Chinese island, that allegation does not hold water. It is the US and the pro-independence forces working hand in glove that hold the sole responsibility for stoking cross-Straits tensions and worsening the security situation in the region.

The US is simply trying to mislead the international community by attempting to pin the blame on China for changing the status quo and raising tensions in the Taiwan Straits. Yet such a distorted narrative cannot hoodwink the international community. It is evident to everyone that the tensions are a consequence of what the US has been doing to constantly provoke Beijing over the Taiwan question in collusion with Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.

There is only one China. Taiwan is part of China. The Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to the same country. Any attempt to portray otherwise will seriously jeopardize stability across the Taiwan Straits. To expect Beijing to sit idle and tolerate separatist activities that infringe upon the nation's territorial integrity and sovereignty is absurd.

The crux of the situation across the Taiwan Straits is that the DPP authorities on the island have repeatedly tried to break the one-China framework, and Washington, seeing an opportunity to use the Chinese island as a chess piece in its strategic playbook against Beijing, has been happy to collude with them.

The onus to defuse tensions and maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits lies with the Biden administration and Taiwan authorities. The DPP authorities should cast aside their delusions of secession while the US should not make any move that may encourage them to live in a fool's paradise.