XI WARNS TAIWAN OVER SEPARATISM
BEIJING: China will not concede “a single inch of land” and guard its sovereignty, President Xi Jinping asserted on Tuesday.
“The Chinese people and the Chinese nation have a shared conviction which is not a single inch of our land will be and can be ceded from China,” Xi said in a 30-minute speech at the end of the 18-day Parliament session.
Though Xi did not name any country, China has a border dispute with India and claims several islands in East China Sea under the control of Japan and vast stretches of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims in the South China Sea.
During its session, the National People’s Congress ratified the constitutional amendment removing a two-term presidential limit, paving the way for Xi to continue in power for life.
Xi was re-elected by the 2,970 deputies for a second five-year term as president and head of the military.
In a departure from the past, Xi on Tuesday addressed the closing session with a speech which was televised live across the country.
“We should safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” he said. “We are resolved to fight the bloody battle against our enemies.”
Seeking to allay fears about absolute powers enjoyed by him controlling all levers of power, Xi vowed to continue to serve as a servant of the people.
Xi also pledged to expand the Belt and Road, his signature foreign policy initiative of building ports, bridges and railways connecting Europe with Asia — but in an apparent response to the project’s critics, said China wasn’t seeking hegemony.
“China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion. Only those who are accustomed to threatening others see everyone as a threat,” he said.
‘TAIWAN WILL FACE PUNISHMENT OF HISTORY FOR SEPARATISM’
Xi told self-ruled Taiwan that it would face the “punishment of history” for any attempt at separatism, offering his strongest warning yet to the island claimed by China as its sacred territory.
China will push for the “peaceful reunification of the motherland” and work for more Taiwanese to enjoy the opportunities of its development, Xi said.
In response, the government of Taiwan, one of China’s most sensitive issues and a potentially dangerous military flashpoint, said it hoped China could “break free” of the old clichés of threats and force.
China’s hostility towards Taiwan has risen since the 2016 election of President Tsai Ing-wen, a member of the island’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
China suspects Tsai wants to push for formal independence, which would cross a red line for Communist Party leaders in Beijing.
However, Tsai says she wants to maintain the status quo.