Status: 09.10.2021 11:20 a.m.
The leadership in Beijing recently threatened Taiwan more and more clearly with military intervention. China’s President Xi has now called on the island nation to “reunite” – and reaped an expected reaction.
In the midst of heightened tensions over Taiwan, China’s state and party leader Xi Jinping has called for “reunification”. Uniting by “peaceful means” would best serve the interests of the entire Chinese nation, the president said at a ceremony in the Great Hall of the People. The occasion was the 110th anniversary of the 1911 revolution, which both China and Taiwan refer to. “Taiwan’s independence is the main obstacle to the reunification of the motherland and a serious hidden threat,” said Xi.
Taiwan firmly rejects the appeal
Taiwan rejected the appeal: Taiwan is a “sovereign and independent country and not part of the People’s Republic of China,” said President Tsai Ing-wen’s spokesman in Taipei. With the revolution of 1911 a “democratic republic, not an authoritarian dictatorship” was founded. In Taiwan, this democracy was “truly realized”. The speaker was referring to the Republic of China, which was founded in Beijing after the fall of the Qing Dynasty, as Taiwan is still officially called today.
The China Policy Council on Mainland Affairs urged Beijing to “abandon provocative steps of intrusion, harassment and destruction” and resume talks.
Beijing threatens military conquest
Taiwan governs itself after the communists led by Mao Tsetung drove the nationalists ruling China to the island state in 1949. Taiwan has developed into a vibrant democracy since the 1980s. Beijing continues to regard Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic, founded in 1949, and threatens a violent conquest. Last week, the People’s Republic sent 149 planes to Taiwan, 52 planes at once in the largest operation of its kind.
Xi also warned against foreign interference: “The Taiwan issue is a purely internal matter for China and does not allow outside interference.” In view of the secret training of troops in Taiwan by US special forces, China warned on Friday of “serious damage” to relations with the United States. According to the Pentagon, a contingent of around 20 US soldiers has been training Taiwanese army and navy personnel for several months.