By Shi Wei
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi left Taiwan after her one-day trip, but the aftermaths of her visit have just begun to show.
What has Pelosi's visit brought to the Taiwan Strait? What tangible benefits can it bring to Taiwan other than the serious consequences listed by the Chinese Foreign Ministry? The external affairs officials from the Taiwan Island claimed that Pelosi's visit has captured close international attention and sent the world a strong signal that "Taiwan is a democratic partner of the US", but "at what price"? – to quote what the western media always say to smear China. Did anyone of the DPP authorities explain the price to the Taiwan people? Can they accept it?
The minute Pelosi left the island, the PLA launched important military exercises and training activities around the Taiwan Island. Military experts pointed out four "firsts" about the exercises – closest to the island, besieging the island, setting a shooting range on the eastern side of the Taiwan Island, and firing missiles across the island – all for the first time. The Chinese mainland has also rolled out a series of countermeasures against "Taiwan independence", every one of them hitting hard on the "Taiwan independence" separatists and anti-China forces.
The Chinese people are resilient and tenacious. The US government has not stopped China's development with its long years of blockade and suppression but has instead seen China grow into the world's second-largest economy with ever stronger overall national strengths. During the latest confrontation, regardless of the provocations by some politicians, they cannot change the fact that China is on the rise and the US is on the decline, much less can they do anything about the final reunification of China.
When asked for comment on Pelosi's Taiwan visit, the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Hua Chunying quoted an ancient Chinese saying – "A man's troubles lie in reading too little about history". There is an example not that long ago. Ten years ago, the Japanese right-wingers manipulated the so-called "nationalization of Diaoyu Island"; ten years later, they can only watch Chinese Coast Guard ships patrolling the waters within 12 nautical miles of the island. In 2016, international anti-China forces staged the "South China Sea Arbitration" farce, which China neither recognized nor participated in; now the South China Sea, thanks to China and relevant parties’ consistent efforts, has become a sea of peace and cooperation.
The PLA's exercises are deterring the anti-China forces and “Taiwan independence” separatists. Pelosi’s provocative visit to China’s Taiwan region has done nothing but further squeeze the space for “Taiwan independence”. China must be and will be reunified. All anti-China forces and “Taiwan independence” separatists will pay a huge price for Pelosi’s visit. The show has just begun.
Editor's note: This article is originally published on taiwan.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
