Xi Jinping says ‘reunification’ with Taiwan must be fulfilled

Daily US Times: The President of China Xi Jinping has said that “reunification” with Taiwan “must be fulfilled”. Mr Xi’s comments came when heightened tensions over the island continue.

The Chinese president said reunification with Taiwan should be achieved peacefully, but warned that the people of China had a “glorious tradition” of opposing separatism.

Taiwan said in response that its future lay in the hands of its people.

Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state, though China views it as a breakaway province.

China hasn’t ruled out the possible use of military force to achieve unification.

Mr Xi’s warning on Saturday comes as China recently sent a record number of military jets into Taiwan’s air defence zone. The flights could be seen as a warning to Taiwan’s president, according to experts, ahead of the island’s national day on Sunday.

Recently, Taiwan’s defence minister Chiu Kuo-cheng has said that tensions with China are at their worst in 40 years.

But Mr Xi’s remarks were more conciliatory than his last major intervention on Taiwan in July, where he pledged to “smash” any attempts at formal Taiwanese independence.

While talking at an event marking the 110th anniversary of the revolution that overthrew China’s last imperial dynasty in 1911, the Chinese president said unification in a “peaceful manner” was “most in line with the overall interest of the Chinese nation, including Taiwan compatriots”.

“No one should underestimate the Chinese people’s staunch determination, firm will, and strong ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added.

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