In two weeks, 110 countries will participate in a virtual event convened by the United States under the summit seal for democracy.
The guest list does not include Russia or China.
Two forces with authoritarian governments do not have a hole in the panel projected by the Biden Administration.
The one that will appear in the television monitors on December 9 and 10 will be Taiwan.
It has been the great surprise at the Washington call after last week, during the Virtual Summit between Joe Biden and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, the US leader committed himself with the politics of a single China, although he also said that he said
To the “unilateral efforts to change the status quo or undermine peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.”
The island is considered by China as a separatist province and only has 15 nations around the world that recognize its sovereignty.
Not even the United States, its great political ally and weapons provider, has never to mention Taiwan’s independence formally, which has its own constitution, democratically elected leaders and around 300,000 active soldiers in their armed forces.
After what happened in Hong Kong, with a national security law applied from Beijing who has finished with the degree of autonomy enjoyed by the former British colony, Taiwan is the last democratic redoubt of Mandarin Speech.
That is why Biden has included him in the list of the summit for democracy, knowing that that would hate his rival Beijing a lot, as it has happened.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China responded on Wednesday through its usual spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, little to bite his tongue.
“The actions of the United States only show that democracy is just a cover and a tool for progressing in its geopolitical goals, pressing other countries, dividing the world and serves its own interests,” Zhao said.
Another spokesman, Zhu Fenglian, this one of the Taiwan Affairs Office of China, also intervened to say that the inclusion of Taiwan was an “error” and that Beijing opposes “any official interaction between the United States and the Taiwan region of
China”.
After the intervention of the spokespersons, as the usual procedure governs in the communist country, it had to follow the criticism on the part of the publishers of the state media controlled by the ruler Chinese Communist Party (CPC).
Like this Global Times, which is edited in English: “The fact of including the island among sovereign countries reflects that the United States is converting this so-called democracy summit in another clique driven by ideology in its campaign to contain China
. And by excluding countries such as China and Russia, more people will realize how American politicians use the so-called values to instigate confrontation. ”
Chinese analysts do not usually miss the appointment in these publishers.
“Even though the Chinese party warned American politicians who do not play with fire in this issue, the United States has continued to take dangerous steps in Taiwan’s question by increasing interaction with the island,” says Li Haidong, professor
of the Institute of International Relations of the University of Foreign Affairs of China.
The Chinese media have remembered the warning of President Xi Jinping during his recent chat for videoconference with Biden: “Achieving China’s full reunification is a shared aspiration by all the nation’s sons and daughters. We have patience and we will strive to achieve
The possibility of a peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and effort. That said, if the separatist forces for the independence of Taiwan provoke us, they force us or even cross the red line, we will be forced to take decided measures. ”
More happy were from Taiwan when the US Department has published the list of invited countries at its next summit.
Xavier Chang, spokesman for the Taipei presidential office, thanked Biden for the invitation.
“Taiwan will firmly cooperate with countries of related ideas to protect universal values such as freedom, democracy and human rights; and also safeguarding regional peace, stability and development,” Chang said.
From the Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that their government would be represented by the Digital Minister Audrey Tang and Hsiao Bi-Khim, the de facto ambassador in Washington.
Although many of the island they expect that in the end the one who participates in the event is the president Tsai Ing-Wen, who has always rejected the option presented by China to add to Taiwan to the formula of “a country, two systems”, the
Format that was established in Hong Kong, according to which it would have significant autonomy if it accepted Chinese reunification.
In the list of guests at the Summit are mature democracies such as France or Sweden.
Although there will also be other quite dubious as the Philippines of Duterte or Modi India.
