There is but one China, and it includes Taiwan

Relations between China and Japan are being severely tested after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested her country could become militarily involved if Beijing attempted reunification with Taiwan by force. The two countries summoned each other’s ambassadors, and 500,000 airline tickets were cancelled after China advised its citizens against travelling to Japan.

All imports of Japanese seafood to China are being banned, and the release of two Japanese anime films in China has also been suspended. Chinese state media have called Ms Takaichi’s words “dangerously provocative”. Various Chinese officials have said, as has President Xi Jinping before, that the reunification of China with what it views as the renegade province of Taiwan is “inevitable”.

There was a time when I might have differed from this view. But not now. And it is high time that other countries, mainly in the western orbit, accept once and for all the historical and legal facts: there is but one China, and Taiwan is a part of it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pictured in South Korea on October 31. The issue of Taiwan has strained relations between the two countries. AP

I understand the sympathy for Taiwan in the US and Europe. Supporters there see today an island that looks at least partly in their image: a democracy with liberal and progressive values. But the notion that their support for the island’s continued separation – or even official independence – is underpinned by a consistent, justifiable principle falls apart under the slightest scrutiny, let alone even the smallest attempt to try to see China’s point of view.

It is Taiwan’s system of governance that means it deserves the West’s support, some say. What then to make of the 38 years from 1949 to 1987 when the island was under martial law, the period known as “the white terror”? That was clearly not the reason the US, in particular, worked so closely with Taiwan. So that argument fails.

Still, I accept that plenty feel that they should stand up for a separate Taiwan. The problem with feelings is that they hit a hard wall when they come up against the law. I may feel, for instance, that the island of Ireland should be reunited. But it would be quite wrong for that to happen – and would never happen – without a proper legal and constitutional process. And Taiwan has no more right to declare independence or maintain a separate status from mainland China than would Texas from the US.

Plenty of people feel that they should stand up for a separate Taiwan. The problem with feelings is that they hit a hard wall when they come up against the law

Talk of independence is, in any case, a bit of a red herring. True, the current Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te may have stated “we are an independent country” at a rally in June, but he is something of an outlier. Polls have consistently shown that over 80 per cent of Taiwanese prefer maintaining the status quo. They know that an official declaration of independence would be a red line for Beijing.

Neither was