By Peng Tao

The official meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers led by the US was held in Karuizawa of Japan's Nagano Prefecture on April 17, 2023. Since the preparatory meeting on April 16, Japanese and Western media such as the US and European media have repeatedly claimed that the G7 foreign ministers are opposed to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force.

Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory, and this fact cannot be meddled with. Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are currently in a special state of long-term political confrontation, China's sovereignty and territory have never been separated, and will never be allowed to be separated. The fact that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China's territory has never changed and will never be allowed to change.

The G7 has always been composed of old capitalist countries in history. Their colonial history has brought profound suffering to developing countries. The history of growth of the G7 is a history of suffering for oppressed countries and the exploitation of many developing countries. In the past, the G7 has used force to change the situation in other countries countless times.

Henry Kissinger once said that China has never invaded other nations by force or treated them as colonies. The Chinese nation is one of the most peaceful nations in history. The G7 countries have failed to reflect on their history of unilaterally changing the situation in other countries by force while meddling in China's internal affairs, specifically the Taiwan question. This demonstrates that the G7 plays its double standards to the extreme.

The Taiwan question is at the core of China's core interests, the foundation of the political basis of China-US relations and the first and foremost red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations. The G7 led by the US falsely claims that "China is changing the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force", which is completely groundless. It is an attempt to maximize the interests of the US while suppressing and countering China. This is a one-sided zero-sum game mentality and a Cold War mindset.

Currently, the biggest threat to peace in the Taiwan Strait is the stubborn "Taiwan independence" forces and their separatist activities, which pose the greatest obstacle to the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. The external forces led by the US have always intensified their support for "Taiwan independence", constantly confused right and wrong, and undermined peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. "Taiwan independence" is incompatible with peace in the Taiwan Strait. It is a historical retrogression and an obstacle that must be removed in promoting the process of peaceful reunification. No one should underestimate the Chinese people's determination to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

It is necessary to firmly uphold the one-China principle and oppose external interference and "Taiwan independence" separatist activities to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. As Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said, “those who say their one-China policy hasn’t changed, but wink at ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists, overtly and covertly support them and even frame the opposition to such separatism as ’changing the status quo’ they are not adhering to, but departing from the one-China policy, and not defending, but endangering cross-Strait peace and stability.”

These are totally irresponsible behaviors.

(Editor's note: The author is deputy director and research fellow of the Center for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and East Asian Studies at Central China Normal University. Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.)