He has sent warplanes with nuclear weapons to show military muscle. But in his speech on Saturday, the Chinese president said that “peaceful means” are best for getting Taiwan back.
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He came to his own, Chinese President Xi Jinping, as he entered the People’s Great Hall in Beijing on Saturday. In recent weeks, he has shown military muscle and sent 150 warplanes in the direction of Taiwan, which they believe is an independent country.
President Xi and Beijing, on the other hand, believe that Taiwan is a Chinese province and want full reunification. This was made clear in the speech that Xi gave to the many people present in the huge hall.
– Our historic goal of carrying out the reunification of the mother country must and will be carried out, insisted Xi Jinping, who no longer intends to accept what he calls “separatism” from Taiwan.
There, the message from the red assembly hall in Beijing is not well received.
– The country’s future can only be decided by the people of Taiwan, is the reaction from Taiwan’s office for Chinese policy.
They are now asking Beijing to stop threatening and “provoking disruption, harassment and destruction”.
–Warplanes and bad mood
In recent weeks, the mood between China and Taiwan has been, to put it mildly, bad. The pressure from China has culminated in the fact that a record number of warplanes, some claiming as many as 150, have been sent into Taiwan’s air defense zone. Several of the planes will be bombers with nuclear weapons. This has provoked Taiwan’s defense minister. He calls the mood the “worst in 40 years”. Taiwan’s president, Tsai Ing-wen, has maintained that Taiwan is a sovereign country.
Taiwan has full autonomy, democratic elections, free press, its own currency and military.
Until now, Xi Jinping has not ruled out taking Taiwan by force. He sees Taiwan’s democratically elected president as a separatist.
“Taiwan’s independence separatism is the biggest obstacle to reuniting with the motherland,” Xi said in a speech on Saturday.
Peaceful demonstration of power?
Despite Chinese warplanes, it was noted that China’s president in Saturday’s speech did not threaten military force. On the contrary, he stressed the value of “national reunification by peaceful means.”
“It is in the best interests of the Chinese nation as a whole, including our fellow citizens of Taiwan,” the president said, adding that China wants to protect its sovereignty and unity.
Xi’s speech is considered somewhat more peaceful than his previous speech on Taiwan in July. Then he promised to crush all attempts at formal independence. In 2019, he threatened to use force to bring Taiwan back under Beijing’s control.
The fact that China is sending a record number of warplanes into the area is nevertheless seen as a demonstration of power and a warning to Taiwan.
That it happened on China’s National Day, October 1, underlines the point, says Adam Ni, a China expert living in Germany.
– The goal is to show Beijing’s power and to show military muscle, he says.
Several countries have expressed concern over China’s military advance.
China and Taiwan were divided after the civil war in the 1940s. Beijing has consistently insisted that the island be re-incorporated into China, if necessary by force. Only a few countries recognize Taiwan.
Kilder: BBC, AP, NTB
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