By Yew Lun Tian and Yimou Lee, Reuters — Thursday 1 July 2021
BEIJING/TAIPEI, 1 July (Reuters) — Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday to complete “reunification” with self-ruled Taiwan and vowed to “smash” any attempts at formal independence, drawing a stern rebuke from Taipei, which lambasted the Communist Party as a dictatorship. Xi made the remarks in a speech on the 100th birthday of the ruling Communist Party, delivered at Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
“Solving the Taiwan question and realising the complete reunification of the motherland are the unswerving historical tasks of the Chinese Communist Party and the common aspiration of all Chinese people,” Xi said. “All sons and daughters of China, including compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, must work together and move forward in solidarity, resolutely smashing any ‘Taiwan independence’ plots.” Xi called for a process of “peaceful reunification”, but said nobody should “underestimate the Chinese people’s strong determination, firm will, and formidable ability to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said while the Communist Party had achieved “certain economic development”, it remained a dictatorship that trampled on people’s freedoms, and should embrace democracy instead. “Its historical decision-making errors and persistent harmful actions have caused serious threats to regional security. Taiwan’s people have rejected the ‘one China principle.’ Beijing should abandon its military intimidation and talk with Taipei on an equal footing. Our government’s determination to firmly defend the nation’s sovereignty and Taiwan’s democracy and freedom and to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait remains unchanged.” The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communist Party. Most Taiwanese have shown no interest in being ruled by China. Taiwan says only the island’s people can decide their future, and has decried Chinese pressure.