SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Taiwan denounces China’s peaceful ‘reunification’ pledge

Taiwan’s government warned on Wednesday that it will never allow China to “meddle” in its destiny, after a Chinese government official indicated Beijing was prepared to go to any length to achieve peaceful “reunification” with the island.

China claims Taiwan, which is democratically governed, as its own territory. Taiwan’s government opposes China’s claims to sovereignty.

China has been conducting military maneuvers near Taiwan since early last month, following the arrival of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, including shooting missiles into waters near the island, though the actions have since been cut back.

China uses illegal military exercises and legal and economic retaliation to attempt to coerce Taiwan’s people, the council added, labelling Beijing’s behaviour as “abominable”.

China has proposed a “one country, two systems” model for Taiwan, similar to the formula under which the former British colony of Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

China has refused to talk to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen since she first took office in 2016, believing she is a separatist. She has repeatedly offered to talk on the basis of equality and mutual respect.

Tsai’s predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, however, met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Singapore in 2015.

Qiu Kaiming, chairman of the research department of the Communist Party’s Taiwan Work Office, stated at the same press conference that the Xi-Ma meeting demonstrated their “strategic flexibility” regarding Taiwan.

This “demonstrated to the world that Chinese people on both sides of the Strait are totally intelligent and capable of managing our own problems,” he continued.

Taiwan’s government contends that its sovereignty claims are null and invalid since the island has never been controlled by the People’s Republic of China.

    Source:
  • Reuters