Chinese President Xi Jinping, in his annual New Year’s Eve address, reaffirmed his vow that Taiwan would “certainly be reunified” with China.
His warning comes as Taiwan prepares for key elections on January 13 that will determine the island’s cross-strait strategy for the next four years.
He also used a more forceful tone than in his last statement, in which he referred to Taiwan as a member of the “same family.”
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan in advance of the elections.
It regards the self-ruled island of 23 million people as a breakaway province that would inevitably fall under the sovereignty of Beijing. Taiwan, with its own constitution and freely elected leaders, believes itself separate from the Chinese mainland.
Separately, in her New Year’s message, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen stated that the island’s relations with China must be determined by the “will of the Taiwanese people.”
Her government has repeatedly warned that Beijing is attempting to meddle in the election, which will determine a new president and government.
The Kuomintang (KMT) party in Taiwan has generally favored closer ties with Beijing, while it denies being pro-China. Ms. Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan’s main competitor, has ruled for the past eight years and takes a tougher stance toward China, arguing that Taiwan is sovereign and not a part of China.
Xi’s current remarks are consistent with China’s long-standing objective of unification, but the message was more forceful than Xi’s remarks last year, in which he referred to “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait… members of one and the same family.”
Taiwan has also strained relations between the United States and China, with the latter criticizing any perceived US backing for Taipei.
Beijing has stated that it “reserves the option of taking all necessary measures” against external forces that obstruct peaceful unification.
However, both countries rang in the new year with a good message, with Xi and US Vice President Joe Biden exchanging greetings on Monday.
Xi noted that “adhering to mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and win-win cooperation is the correct way for China and the United States to interact.”
