On January 23, 2026, Chinese Consul General in Cape Town Ren Faqiang published an article titled "Foreign interference won’t shake the one-China principle" on Cape Times. The full article reads as follows:

Recently, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China made remarks to express strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to the US announcement of large-scale arms sale to China's Taiwan region. The Spokesperson pointed out that the US’s massive arms sales to China’s Taiwan region grossly violate the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. In response, China has decided to take countermeasures in accordance with the law against the relevant US military-related companies and senior executives who have been engaged in arming Taiwan in recent years.

There is but one China in the world. Both the Mainland and Taiwan belong to one and the same China. The Taiwan question is a leftover from the Chinese civil war. It is purely China’s internal affairs and no foreign country has the right to interfere. Taiwan’s restoration to China is a victorious outcome of World War II and an integral part of the post-war international order. A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, all confirm China’s sovereignty over Taiwan. In 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, restoring all lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the UN. The resolution reaffirmed the one-China principle, and the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and there is no such thing as “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

After the World War II, the US acknowledged the restoration of Taiwan to the Chinese government. In the three China-US joint communiqués, the US made political commitments to uphold the one-China principle and stated that it intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution. Nevertheless, the US has continuously sold advanced weapons to Taiwan, which grossly disrupts peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and sends a seriously wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and others.

The one-China principle is the consensus of the international community. It is also the political foundation on which China develops relations with other countries. It is at the very core of China’s core interests and a red line that must not be crossed. No country or force shall ever underestimate the resolve, will and ability of the Chinese government and people to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity. To date, 183 countries including South Africa have established and developed diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle, which shows that the abiding commitment of the international community to the one-China principle is unshakable and the trend of the history of China realizing complete reunification is unstoppable. 

Although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are yet to be fully reunified, China’s sovereignty and territory shall never be divided. We are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and promoting the development of cross-Strait relations, but we will never tolerate or condone 'Taiwan independence' separatists and interference of foreign forces.

China and South Africa are good friends and brothers enjoying a deep friendship. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have supported each other on issues involving their respective core interests and major concerns. South Africa has been adhered to the one-China principle on the Taiwan question and firmly fulfilled its commitments. This is essential for China and South Africa to become all-round strategic cooperative partners in the new era and constitutes an effort to uphold the universally recognized basic norms governing international relations. We stand ready to work with South Africa to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of state of the two countries with concrete actions, firmly uphold the outcomes of the victory in World War II, safeguard world peace and stability, and promote greater development of the all-round strategic cooperative partnership between China and South Africa in the new era.