On Wednesday, the White House announced that US President Joe Biden “will bring together leaders from a diverse group of the world’s democracies at a virtual Summit for Democracy, to be followed in roughly a year’s time by a second, in-person Summit.” The summit will take place on December 9 and 10. Analysis from many media outlets suggests that this is another move by the Biden administration to counter China. The summit classifies countries across the world into democratic and non-democratic, or “authoritarian” groups. This drawing of lines will definitely divide the world. Many countries, including Russia, have a Western-style multi-party system, but are frequently labeled as “authoritarian countries” by some Western media outlets. So are some US allies, such as Turkey. Saudi Arabia should especially be excluded from democratic camp. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities of Taiwan are excited about the prospect of attending the summit. When reporting the news on Biden to hold the summit, a Taiwan-based English media outlet Taiwan News mentioned, “While attending a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs on March 10, Blinken pledged he would invite Taiwan to participate in the summit.” The report noted that during the hearing, Blinken said Taiwan has a strong democratic system, and is an important technology hub, and “is also a country that can contribute to the world.” The White House said both summits will “bring together heads of state, civil society, philanthropy, and the private sector, serving as an opportunity for world leaders.” In this context, who will the US invite from Taiwan to attend the virtual summit? China must clearly show its stance: We will definitely not accept the US to invite Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen to participate in the meeting. Allowing Tsai to attend a meeting and show on the screen with the heads of various countries and governments will gravely violate the one-China principle. The US needs to follow APEC’s practices if it wants to invite Taiwan. Otherwise, the summit will be a severe escalation of intervening in the Taiwan question. The Chinese mainland will never sit back and tolerate the US and the island of Taiwan break the bottom line. By then, there will be unprecedented storms in the Taiwan Straits. We warn Washington and the island that so-called democracy is not an excuse to safely push “Taiwan independence.” If Washington creates a scene in which Tsai attends the meeting with leaders of the US and other countries, it is to publicly recognize the island’s status as a “country,” break the political status quo of the Taiwan Straits from the outside. Beijing will have no choice but to take resolute measures. There will be decisive counterattacks to defend the one-China principle.
–The Daily Mail-Global Times News Exchange Item
