On 25 August 2022, the Economist published a letter from the spokesperson of Chinese Embassy to the UK , solemnly refuting the false viewpoints of a Taiwan question related article recently published in the newspaper. The full text of the letter is as follows:

Your leader on China and Taiwan claimed that “no country has done more to wreck the status quo than China” (“Target: Taiwan”, August 13th). We cannot help but ask: who is changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, who is threatening peace and stability?

It is America that has been playing the “Taiwan card” to contain China. America has been approving arms sales to Taiwan, stepping up its official exchanges with Taiwan, distorting, obscuring and hollowing out the one-China principle and emboldening “Taiwan independence” activities. It is the Taiwan authorities that have kept seeking American support for their independence agenda. They refuse to recognise the 1992 consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, and go all out to advance de-Sinicisation and promote “incremental independence”. What would you call these moves if they were not changing the status quo and threatening peace in the Taiwan Strait? 

You also said that China is using the crisis “to set new boundaries for its encroachments into what Taiwan considers its airspace and territorial waters” and “could also attempt to impose even stricter limits on the island’s dealings with the rest of the world”. The fact is that Taiwan is part of China’s territory. China has conducted normal military drills in the waters off its own territory. This action is open, transparent and professional and China’s relevant authorities have issued public notices in a timely manner. It is consistent with China’s domestic law, international law, and established international practices. It is both a warning sent to the provocateurs and a legitimate step to uphold China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Peaceful cross-Strait reunification is in the interest of not only the Chinese nation but also peoples of the world and the international community. The reunification of China will not harm the legitimate interests of any other country, including any economic interests they might have in Taiwan. On the contrary, it will bring more development opportunities to all countries; it will create more positive momentum for prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the rest of the world; it will contribute more to building a global community of shared future and to peace, development and human progress.