China will surely be reunified, vows Xi in New Year address before Taiwan election
XI JINPING has vowed that his country “will surely be reunified” during a televised New Year’s Eve address, weeks before elections in Taiwan.
“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,” said Xi, noting that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
China’s president has vowed to “reunify” the two sides of the strait by 2049, the target date for achieving “the Chinese dream”.
The PRC, which has never ruled Taiwan, views the democratic island nation as part of its own territory and vows to annex it by force if necessary.
Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s president, responded to Xi’s comments yesterday in what will be her final New Year’s Day address. She emphasised that Taiwan’s future would be democratically determined by its own people but also called for the resumption of cross-strait relations, expressing hope for “healthy and orderly exchanges” through “peace, equality, democracy and dialogue” to continue as soon as possible.
“Facing global conflict between democracy and freedom and authoritarianism, Taiwan’s only choice in the future is to continue to uphold democracy and protect peace,” Ms Tsai said.
The comments come less than two weeks before Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, set for Jan 13.
William Lai, the current frontrunner and vice-president of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has said he is open to discussions with China. The PRC labels the DPP a “separatist force” that advocates for Taiwan independence, though the DPP’S charter states that Taiwan is already an independent, sovereign entity and does not need to declare “formal independence”.
China cut off talks with Taiwan in 2016 after Ms Tsai’s first election victory. It has also increased its military pressure since then, sending ships and aircraft into Taipei’s territorial waters and airspace with increasing frequency.
The other two presidential election contenders, Hou Yu-ih of the China-friendly Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party, say more communication with China is needed to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait.
Experts have warned of mounting Chinese election interference via military aggression, economic coercion and information warfare. The government has warned that China has stepped up interference through religious organisations, while more than 400 Taiwan village chiefs have participated in China-sponsored tours of the mainland.
‘Taiwan’s only choice in the future is to continue to uphold democracy and protect peace’
It was no great surprise to hear Chinese President Xi Jinping talk once again about reunification with Taiwan in his New Year’s Eve address, but is he any closer to doing something about it? This annual exercise in sabre-rattling has become almost ritualistic. The difficulty that Western policy-makers face is to assess whether it is moving beyond that. Matters are complicated by this month’s general election in Taiwan with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party expected to retain power. It is hostile to any idea of reunification, more so than the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
The outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen, who is stepping down after two terms in office, has been stalwart in her defence of Taiwan’s sovereignty, and is deeply disliked by Beijing. But William Lai, the vice president expected to take over, is regarded as even worse by the Chinese Communist Party, who denounce him as a hardline “splittist” for advocating formal Taiwan independence.
Beijing’s intimidatory message is that a vote for Lai is a vote for war, a view shared by the KMT, which fears Beijing’s wrath if he wins. Their candidate Hou Yu-ih told supporters at a recent rally: “Our whole generation will lose everything we have fought for during our lifetime [if Lai wins].”
Taiwanese are used to these machinations during elections but this year’s seem more sinister than before in a bid to scare the electorate into kicking out the current administration. They are likely to discover that the Taiwanese are not easily cowed even by such a large and belligerent neighbour.
But if Mr Lai wins the presidency there is likely to be a response from Beijing that goes beyond mere rhetoric. The West, with eyes now on Ukraine and the Middle East, needs to be ready lest another international crisis unfolds in the Pacific.