Arrr, Xi Jinping be claimin' that Taiwan be 'surely' sailin' back into China's embrace, mateys! Raise the grog!
2023-12-27
Arr! Me hearties, Chinese Cap'n Xi Jinping be swearin' on his honor to bring together China 'n Taiwan, by Davy Jones' locker! He be warning all ye scallywags who dare to meddle, ye be facin' the wrath of his mighty crew!
In a symposium commemorating the birth of Mao Zedong, Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted that Taiwan would be reunited with mainland China and vowed to prevent any attempts to split the two sides. Mao had led China to defeat the government of the Republic of China in 1949, causing them to flee to Taiwan. Despite Taipei's objections, Beijing still considers Taiwan as part of its own territory.Over the past year and a half, China has conducted multiple major war games near Taiwan and frequently sends warships and fighter jets into the Taiwan Strait. Xi, as reported by Xinhua news agency, stated that the reunification of the motherland was an unstoppable trend and emphasized the need to deepen integration and promote peaceful development between the two sides.
The report did not mention the use of force against Taiwan, although China has never ruled out that possibility. It also did not mention Taiwan's upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 13. The Chinese government has denounced Lai Ching-te, the frontrunner from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, as a dangerous separatist and refused his calls for talks.
Both the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang, Taiwan's main opposition party, maintain that the island's future should be determined by its people. Despite Beijing's claims, Taiwan's government remains democratically governed and independent.
With Xi's remarks, tensions between China and Taiwan are likely to persist. It remains to be seen how Taiwan's people and international actors will respond to Beijing's continued efforts to assert its control over the island.