Chinese President Xi Jinping stated in his New Year’s speech on Tuesday that nobody can impede China’s “reunification” with Taiwan, issuing a direct warning to what Beijing sees as pro-independence elements both within and beyond the island of 23 million residents.
Over the past year, Beijing has increased military activity close to Taiwan, dispatching warships and aircraft nearly every day into the waters and airspace surrounding the island, which Taiwanese officials see as a gradual attempt to “normalize” China’s military presence.
China considers Taiwan, which is governed democratically, to be part of its territory. However, Taiwan’s administration dismisses Beijing’s assertions and states that only its citizens have the authority to determine their future, and Beijing should honor the decision of the Taiwanese citizens.
“The individuals on either side of the Taiwan Strait constitute a single family.” “Nobody can break our family ties, and no one can halt the historical movement toward national reunification,” Xi stated in a speech aired on China’s state broadcaster CCTV.
In his New Year’s address from last year, Xi stated that China’s “reunification” with Taiwan is unavoidable, and that individuals on both sides “ought to be united by a shared sense of purpose and partake in the honor of the revival of the Chinese nation.”
Tensions have stayed elevated all year in the delicate Taiwan Strait, particularly after Lai Ching-te, labeled a “separatist” by Beijing, took office as the island’s new president in May.
Earlier this month, China conducted a significant deployment of naval forces near Taiwan and in the East and South China Seas following Lai’s visit to Hawaii and the US territory of Guam on a Pacific trip that Beijing condemned.
China, which has not abandoned the use of force to assert control over Taiwan, held two sets of military exercises near the island this year, stating that they served as warnings against “separatist activities” and promised to take additional measures if necessary.
