Xi's message of peace and reunification
Delivering a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of the Message to Taiwan Compatriots on Jan 2, President Xi Jinping said that, on the basis of the common political foundation of upholding the 1992 Consensus and opposing "Taiwan independence", political parties and people across all sections of society on both sides of the Straits can recommend their representatives to hold in-depth democratic consultations and establish institutional arrangements for peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.
Xi's speech was widely welcomed by people on both sides of the Straits, most of whom support the peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the motherland. But the separatist forces on the island, who represent a miniscule percentage of the island's population, and their representative, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, have devised a counter-plan against the peaceful reunification plan to fulfill their own narrow political gains.
And at such a crucial moment, 10 U.S. Congress members have made a 7-minute video to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act to openly show their support to Tsai and her "pro-independence" supporters.
Although they comprise a small part of the Congress, they hold representative posts－for example James Inhofe is co-chairman of U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and Congressional Taiwan Caucus, and Eliot Engel is chairman of House Foreign Affairs Committee, who has said the U.S. would provide security support for Taiwan to jointly counter the mainland.
Conspiracy to contain Beijing won't work
The Congress members have also demanded that the U.S. administration put into practice the Taiwan Travel Act and the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act, both passed last year, to fulfill its promise to the Tsai authorities. In their letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, some Congress members have said the Taiwan Relations Act will help maintain peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and suppress Beijing's so-called aggression.
Moreover, to seek the U.S.' protection and contain Beijing, the Tsai authorities have been hyping up the island's strategic value for Washington. But the fact is, the empty promises given by the Congress members cannot guarantee any safety to the Tsai authorities and, instead, could put them in danger.
Ahead of the 2020 elections on the island, some U.S. Congress members are inciting the Tsai authorities to provoke disputes with the mainland by supporting those seeking "Taiwan independence". But since any attempt to split Taiwan from the motherland would lead to a conflict, it will be in the interest of neither side of the Straits nor the U.S.. Worse, such a conflict would destroy peace and stability in the entire Asia-Pacific region.
U.S. Congress must stop sending wrong signals
If the U.S. Congress continues to send the wrong signals to the "pro-independence" DPP, it will embolden the Tsai authorities to take more risky actions, and thus damage cross-Straits ties further, harming the interests of Beijing and Washington both.
U.S. Congress members are elected by American voters as their representatives and, therefore, they should always put the interests of their people and country first. And instigating the Tsai authorities to further damage cross-Straits ties certainly doesn't serve the interest of either American voters or the U.S. as a country.
The author, Li Zhenguang, is a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Beijing Union University. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.
