China’s President Xi Jinping Asserts Reunification with Taiwan in New Year’s Address

China’s President Xi Jinping Asserts Inevitable Reunification with Taiwan

In his New Year’s address on Sunday, President Xi Jinping declared that China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is inevitable. This statement comes with less than two weeks remaining before the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Taiwan, amidst escalating tensions between Beijing and Taipei. China has been increasing its military pressure in order to assert its sovereignty claims over the democratically governed island.

China considers Taiwan to be its “sacred territory” and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. However, President Xi did not mention any military threats in his speech, which was broadcasted by state television.

“The reunification of the motherland is a historical inevitability,” Xi stated. The official English translation provided by Xinhua news agency used a simpler phrase: “China will surely be reunified.”

Xi further expressed that “compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” The official English translation employed “all Chinese” instead of “compatriots.”

Last year, Xi referred to people on both sides of the strait as “members of one and the same family” and expressed his hope for collaborative efforts towards the lasting prosperity of the Chinese nation.

China has specifically taken issue with Vice President Lai Ching-te, who is the presidential candidate for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Party (DPP) and currently leading in opinion polls. China has labeled him as a dangerous separatist.

Responding to Lai’s comments during a televised presidential debate, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office criticized him for his confrontational thinking and referred to him as a destroyer of peace in the region. The office further accused Taiwan’s DPP-led government, which has been promoting separatism since 2016, as obstructing exchanges across the strait and harming the interests of Taiwan’s people.

Both Tsai Ing-wen and Lai have repeatedly expressed their willingness to engage in talks with China, but China has rejected their offers.

The DPP maintains that only Taiwan’s people have the authority to decide their own future, a position shared by Hou Yu-ih, the main opponent from Taiwan’s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT). Although the KMT traditionally favors close ties with China, it strongly denies being pro-Beijing and accuses Lai of supporting independence.

The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 following its loss in the civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists, who established the People’s Republic of China. The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name.

In his remarks, Lai emphasized that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, a stance that has also provoked criticism from Beijing.