The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan its territory, although it has never controlled it.
“Taiwan's reunification with China is inevitable,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping said in a speech on Tuesday, December 26, reaffirming Beijing's long-standing position on a self-governing island democracy ahead of crucial elections. which will be held there next month.
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“Reunion is inevitable”
“Completing reunification with the homeland is an inevitable path of development, it is fair and what the people want. The motherland must and will be reunited,” Xi said in an address to mark the 130th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong.
The words echo previous statements by Xi, one of China's most powerful leaders since Mao, who has made control of Taiwan a cornerstone of his broader goal of “rejuvenating” China to become stronger. and influential in the world.
Elections in Taiwan
But they take on special significance now, a few weeks before the decisive presidential elections in Taiwan. There, political parties' differing views on relations with China often make elections a litmus test for public sentiment on Beijing and lead Taiwan to argue that the ruling Chinese Communist Party is increasing its influence operations on the island.
The current election comes after years of heightened tension as Beijing steps up military, political and economic pressure on the island under President Tsai Ing-wen, who is believed to be cultivating Taiwan's unofficial relationship with the United States.
The Democratic Progressive Party's candidate to succeed Tsai, Vice President Lai Chinte, is leading in the polls and is outright hated by Chinese officials.
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Lai is ahead of two other candidates, Hou Yu-yi of the Kuomintang and Ko Wen-chie of the Taiwan People's Party, both seen as proponents of closer relations with Beijing.
Washington's warning?
The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan its territory, although it has never controlled it. Chinese officials say they are committed to peaceful “reunification” but have not ruled out using force to take control of the island.
“(We should) promote the peaceful development of cross-border ties and resolutely discourage anyone from separating Taiwan from China in any way,” Xi said in a speech on Tuesday, December 26, that, is obviously a veiled warning not only from Taipei, but also from Washington.
Taiwan has become one of the hottest issues in US-China relations. During a summit in San Francisco last month, Xi told US President Joe Biden that China's “reunification” with Taiwan “cannot be stopped”, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
In August 2022, while Tsai was hosting then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to Taiwan, China surrounded the island for several days with large-scale military exercises and cut off high-level military communications with the armed forces. by US forces.
This channel was reopened just last week after more than a year of careful diplomacy, including the Xi-Biden summit.
The United States maintains unofficial relations with Taiwan and adheres to the one-China policy.
Under this policy, the United States recognizes China's position that Taiwan is part of China, but Washington has never officially recognized Beijing's claim to the island of 23 million people. He is also required by law to provide the democratic island with the means of self-defense.
“Never forget about Mao”
The contentious relationship between Taipei and Beijing dates back to 1949, when General Chiang Kai-shek fled with his Nationalist forces to Taiwan after Mao's Red Army won the Chinese Civil War.
In his speech, Xi urged Chinese citizens to “never forget Mao and “the original aspiration and founding mission of the Communist Party and… remain confident in our history and seize the historical initiative to steadily advance the great cause of Chinese modernization “.
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