China’s President Xi Jinping has emphasized the “peaceful reunification” of Taiwan with mainland China, days after a record show of force by Beijing.
The taiwan reunification is a topic that has been in the news recently. China’s Xi Emphasizes Peaceful Reunification.
Days after China’s People’s Liberation Army dispatched a record 56 bombers and other aircraft on missions near the self-ruled island in a single day, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for “peaceful reunification” with Taiwan.
In a speech the next day, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen responded, declaring that the Taiwanese people will not submit to Chinese coercion.
“The historical mission of full reunification of the motherland must be completed, and can certainly be achieved,” Mr. Xi said on Saturday in Beijing, adding that attaining that objective via peaceful means is in the interests of Taiwanese people.
Mr. Xi made the comments as part of a speech commemorating the 110th anniversary of the Chinese revolution that overthrew the Qing imperial authority. In the decades that followed, Communists and Nationalists fought for control of China, eventually resulting in a civil war between China and Taiwan. Nationalist troops retreated to the island, and Mao Zedong, the communist leader, declared the People’s Republic in 1949.
Despite never having governed Taiwan, the Communist Party considers it a part of China and has threatened to seize control of the island by force if necessary.
Mr. Xi has long spoken of achieving what Beijing calls a peaceful reunion with Taiwan, but his comments came as the United States’ worries over China’s years-long military buildup and recent provocative actions towards the island grew.
So far this month, the PLA has flown 150 sorties near Taiwan, causing alarm in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that a small group of American soldiers on the island had been covertly training local armed personnel.
Mr. Xi said that Taiwan’s independence is the most significant impediment to Beijing’s objective of unification, and that it presents a “severe concealed threat to national rejuvenation.” “Those who forget their forefathers, betray their homeland, or divide their country have always been condemned.” They will undoubtedly be despised by the general public and condemned by history,” he said.
Mr. Xi said that the problem of Taiwan is a domestic matter for China and that no outside intervention is permitted, without mentioning any countries. In his address, he made no mention of the use of force against Taiwan.
On Sunday, Taiwanese jet fighters flew above Taipei.
Chiang Ying-ying/Associated Press photo
Ms. Tsai vowed to preserve the status quo in Taiwan’s ties with China in her own address commemorating the anniversary on Sunday, saying “there should be absolutely no illusions” about the willingness of Taiwanese people to stand up to Beijing.
“No one can compel Taiwan to follow the road that China has set for us,” she added, promising to strengthen the island’s defenses.
The Taiwanese military paraded domestically manufactured weaponry through the center of Taipei shortly after her address, with jet fighters flying above and a pair of helicopters hovering overhead bearing Taiwanese flags.
Elaine Yu and Joyu Wang can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.
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The China’s Xi Emphasizes ‘Peaceful Reunification’ With Taiwan, Days After Record Show of Force is a news article about China and Taiwan. Reference: why does china want taiwan.
