Xi Jinping has ramped up his rhetoric over China’s ownership of Taiwan in a new speech, prompting immediate pushback across the Taiwan Strait.
The Chinese president delivered a New Year’s Eve speech this week in which he reasserted his country’s claim to its “separatist” neighbours ahead of milestone elections. He vowed the two nations would “surely be reunified” during his December 31 address, in which he also touted his administration’s achievements in 2023.
And he said both China and Taiwan should share in the “joy” of what he termed the “rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. But he was swiftly rebuked by Taiwan’s outgoing premier, who has insisted her nation’s people will decide its future.
Mr Xi made the comments in a lengthy speech to Chinese residents in which he celebrated the country’s influence in its special administrative regions, Macao and Hong Kong.
He promised his government would continue to support the regions in “harnessing their distinctive strengths, better integrating themselves into China’s overall development, and securing long-term prosperity and stability” before moving on to Taiwan, an independent nation.
He suggested that Chinese people “on both sides of the Taiwan Strait” should favour the two countries joining as one.
He said: “China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese 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.”
Among the first to respond to the speech was Tsai Ing-Wen, Taiwan’s President, who stressed in a New Year’s press conference that the country was democratic and its future would be decided by its people.
She said: “This is taking the joint will of Taiwan’s people to make a decision. After all, we are a democratic country.”
China sees Ms Tsai and William Lai Ching-te, the serving Vice President and frontrunner for the country’s upcoming elections, as “separatists” and has refused to open a dialogue despite their desires to the contrary.
While he resurrected some fears around an invasion of Taiwan, Mr Xi also used his speech to insist that China is interested in peace, noting that conflicts are “raging in some parts of the world”.
He said the country is “keenly aware of what peace means” and pledged to “work closely with the international community for the common good of humanity”
He added that China would seek to “build a community with a shared future for mankind and make the world a better place for all”.
