Xi Jinping repeated Beijing’s demand for unification with Taiwan during a ceremony honouring Sun Yat-sen. Taiwan’s government rejected the proposed political arrangement and said the speech brought no change in China’s position. Xi advocated peaceful unification, while Beijing continues to claim the self-governing island as its territory.
Chinese President Xi Jinping renewed his demand for unification with Taiwan at a ceremony commemorating Sun Yat-sen. The gathering marked the revolutionary leader’s birth anniversary in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. Xi presented unification as a mission of the Communist Party and advocated a peaceful route under Beijing’s proposed one country, two systems arrangement.[1], [2]
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the body responsible for relations with China, rejected that arrangement. Its spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh said the speech did not change Beijing’s position. China claims sovereignty over Taiwan, which governs itself. Taipei maintains that the island’s people should decide its future, and no major Taiwanese political party supports Beijing’s proposed model.[1]
Xi did not refer to military force in this speech, although Beijing has never renounced that option toward Taiwan. The address came before the planned Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen. Taiwan’s defence ministry also reported Chinese aircraft and warships conducting joint patrols around the island including J-16 fighters, according to the ministry.[1]
