Xi calls for Taiwan reunification in national day speech

BEIJING: President Xi Jinping reiterated his call for China to “reunite” with Taiwan, during an address on the eve of national holiday celebrations.Xi also used his speech to thousands of people gathered for a banquet celebrating 75 years of the People´s Republic to call for opposition to the “separatist activities” of supporters of Taiwanese independence.

“Achieving complete national reunification is the common aspiration of the Chinese people,” Xi said.“It is an irreversible trend, a matter of justice, and it is in accordance with the popular will. No one can stop the march of history,” he said.

Beijing has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has also stepped up rhetoric about “unification”.The People´s Republic of China was founded on October 1, 1949, after the Communist army defeated nationalist Kuomintang forces at the end of a civil war lasting two decades. The defeated nationalists fled to Taiwan.

“Taiwan is sacred territory for China. People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have blood ties, and these family ties will always be stronger than others,” Xi said.Taiwan´s President Lai Ching-te rejects China´s claim on the island and Beijing in turn regards him as a “dangerous separatist”.China has ramped up military and political pressure on Taipei in recent years, sending warplanes, drones and naval vessels around the island on a near-daily basis.

About 3,000 people, including foreigners, attended the event in Beijing, according to state media.During his speech, Xi emphasized the need to unify under the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership and reiterated Beijing’s “firm opposition” to Taiwan “separatist” activities, while calling for both sides to increase economic and cultural cooperation.

He cast reunification with Taiwan as an inevitable development of history — something he has said previously.Tensions between China and the US and Europe have increased over the last several years, with Western nations increasing tariffs and restrictions on Beijing’s access to advanced technology.

Xi did not mention specific countries or trade conflicts in his Monday speech, instead portraying China as upholding globalization. He broadly thanked “friendly” countries and supporters of China’s development.He also emphasized Beijing’s claim to Greater China by saying “national rejuvenation” was the hope of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and all Chinese peoples.