In his New Year’s speech on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping declared that no one can stop China’s “reunification” with Taiwan, delivering a stern warning to what Beijing sees as pro-independence forces both on the island and internationally.
Over the past year, Beijing has intensified military pressure on Taiwan, with warships and planes regularly entering the waters and airspace surrounding the island. Taiwanese officials view this as a gradual attempt to “normalize” China’s military presence near Taiwan, as reported by Reuters.
China considers Taiwan, a democratically governed island, as part of its territory, but Taiwan’s government firmly rejects these claims. It maintains that only the Taiwanese people have the right to determine their future, and that Beijing must respect their decision.
“The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can sever our family bonds, and no one can stop the historical trend of national reunification,” Xi said in a speech televised on China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
In his New Year’s speech last year, Xi said China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable, and that people on both sides “should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Tensions have remained high throughout the year in the sensitive Taiwan Strait, especially after Lai Ching-te, deemed a “separatist” by Beijing, became the island’s latest president in May, as reported by Reuters.
Earlier this month, China staged a large massing of naval forces around Taiwan and in the East and South China Seas after Lai stopped over in Hawaii and the U.S. territory of Guam on a Pacific trip criticised by Beijing.
China, which never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, conducted two rounds of war games around the island this year, saying they were warnings against “separatist acts” and vowed to take further actions if needed.
U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, allowed by the Taiwan Relations Act, have also continued to strain Beijing’s ties with Washington. China has regularly warned the U.S. against any military ties with Taiwan, and slapped sanctions on military suppliers and their executives.
