Elbahrain.net On the day of Communist China’s 75th birthday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping restated his commitment to achieving “reunification” with Taiwan, as Beijing displayed its military might ahead of the national holiday.
Xi emphasized in his speech at a state dinner honoring the People’s Republic’s foundation on Monday his commitment to achieving the “full reunion of the motherland.”
It is an unstoppable trend, a source of morality, and the people’s shared goal. According to state-run news agency Xinhua, he told the thousands of people present in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, “No one can stop the march of history.”
Despite never having had authority over Taiwan, China’s ruling Communist Party declares it to be its own and has threatened to “reunify” with the democratic republic, using force if necessary.
However, a large portion of the island’s population considers itself to be uniquely Taiwanese and does not wish to join Communist China.
Since the Chinese Civil War ended in 1949, the two sides have been governed by independent administrations. On October 1, 1949, the communists established the People’s Republic of China in Beijing, driving the defeated nationalists to Taiwan and shifting the Republic of China’s capital from the mainland to Taipei.
Although Xi, China’s most powerful leader in decades, has increased rhetoric and aggression toward the democratic island, increasing tensions across the strait and stoking fears of a military conflict, successive Chinese presidents have pledged to seize control of Taiwan eventually.
China considers Taiwan to be its holy land. “People on both sides of the strait are united by blood, and blood is thicker than water,” Xi declared at the banquet, which was attended by almost 3,000 guests, including foreign dignitaries, officials, and former party leaders.
He also demanded the development of “spiritual peace among countrymen on both sides” as well as more extensive cultural and commercial ties across the Taiwan Strait.
Xi declared, “(We must) forcefully reject separatist efforts that call for Taiwan independence.”
Beijing has termed Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te a “dangerous separatist,” and tensions have ratcheted up since Lai’s inauguration in May, during which he called on China to end its intimidation of Taiwan.
Taiwanese officials report that Beijing has stepped up military exercises around the island in recent months, including ones in May that it claimed were intended to test its capacity to “seize power” over the territory.
The Defense Ministry of Taiwan declared itself on alert on Sunday following the discovery of “several waves” of missile shooting deep within China’s interior.
In a statement, the ministry stated that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Rocket Force fired the missiles in the interior regions of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang. Taiwan’s air defense forces have also “kept a high degree of vigilance and enhanced their alert.”
It happened a few days after China, in the midst of heightened tensions in the region, shot an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean for the first time in 44 years in a rare public test, according to analysts.
China and the US, which have informal but close ties with Taipei and are legally obligated to provide the island with defense weapons, are at odds over the Taiwan dispute, which has grown to be a major concern.
The largest aid package that the US has ever given Taiwan, $567 million in military support was approved by US President Joe Biden on Sunday. According to a statement from the White House, the funds will go toward both “military education and training” and defense-related items.