On Thursday, China began celebrations marking the 160th anniversary of the birth of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China. In an anniversary speech, President Xi Jinping declared that the unification of Taiwan with the motherland is inevitable. However, he stressed the importance of peaceful incorporation without the need for violence.
On Thursday, 12 November, President Xi stood in the Great Hall of the People, the traditional venue for the Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. In his address, he described the final resolution of the Taiwan question—namely, the incorporation of the island state into the motherland, the People’s Republic of China—as the party’s ‘unshakeable historic mission’. ‘The tide of history cannot be stopped; the complete unification of the motherland must be realised—and it will undoubtedly be realised,’ he stated. According to him, moreover, this incorporation is to take place by peaceful means.
It should be added that Xi Jinping’s remarks do not alter China’s existing stance in any way. Beijing has repeatedly offered a ‘one country, two systems’ solution. Taiwan’s leadership, however, rejects this solution. ‘As far as the explicit wording regarding the unification of Taiwan is concerned, it does not differ much from the past,’ said Liang Wen-chieh,spokesperson for Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council. China has also never explicitly ruled out the possibility of involving armed forces in the unification process. Xi called on all Chinese citizens to oppose separatist forces on the island and to support peaceful relations across the Taiwan Strait.
Meanwhile, the whole situation comes at a time when local elections are approaching in Taiwan and preparations are underway in Shenzhen for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which US President Donald Trump is also scheduled to attend. It may thus appear that Beijing is deliberately provoking its neighbouring country. The People’s Republic of China still adheres to the One China policy and considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, even though the island itself has never been part of the Republic of China.
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