Amid heightened tensions between China and Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping told a former Taiwanese president who supports unification that the countries “belong” together.
“Differences in systems cannot change the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to the same country and nation,” Xi said.
“External interference cannot stop the historical trend of reunion of the country and family,” Xi said, in comments reported by Taiwanese media and published by Reuters.
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Beijing claims the independent island of Taiwan is a Chinese province and has threatened to use force to achieve unification. China frequently sends warplanes and naval vessels to circle the small island democracy and has been mounting an increasing number of military drills over recent years.
Why does Xi think he gets any say? He’s showing his full hand already, and it’s actually pathetic. Already saying that it will have to be taken by force. So he’s admitting that the people of Taiwan, if given a choice, may not choose to join China. Let’s give everyone a vote guaranteed by international overwatch, none of those mainland representatives.
This is just another dictator having a whiny shitstorm threatening to take territory by force just because they want their historical empire.
He’s not saying it will have to be taken by force. Where did you read that? He’s implying that China is willing to use force but he’s not asserting that the use of force is necessary if that makes sense.
If you want to understand the situation you have to understand that Taiwanese only remained politically independent thanks to US intervention in the Chinese civil war. When the nationalists fled to Taiwan the US stationed a fleet between the island and the mainland. That prevented the communists from finishing the fight against Chiang Kai-shek’s fascist KMT. The US then supported the KMT as the legitimate government of China right up until Kissinger realized the US could ally with the CPC against the USSR.
Given their long victimhood at the hands of colonialist and imperialist nations, the CPC is worried about what allowing Taiwanese independence would mean for their national security. They see foreign support for Taiwanese independence as the continued meddling of outside powers in Chinese affairs. That said I imagine they would be more amicable with maintaining Taiwanese political independence under the umbrella of an economic union if the US agreed to stop funding pro independence groups in Taiwan.
None of the people in this thread want historical context or material analysis. They’ve been propagandized to think of China as an evil empire while they live in one 1000x worse. I can’t wait to watch this trend continue (/s)
Honestly I think people just get defensive when their worldview is challenged. It sucks but it is what it is.
Because the world has said Taiwan is part of China. That’s why. The world needs to recognize Taiwan as its own nation. Everyone wanted that cheap labor in China and ignored Taiwan.
Taiwanese people don’t want the island to be recognized as its own nation though. They benefit from close economic relations with the mainland and so are happy to maintain the status quo. The majority voted against pro independence candidates in recent elections, something this article fails to mention. That of course doesn’t mean Taiwanese people trust the mainland nor do they want to be politically integrated into it. However the situation is more nuanced than many western media outlets would have you believe.
At some point you have to shit or get off the pot. Either they are part of China or they are not.
Okay and as far as the Taiwanese people are concerned they apparently see that choice as a lose lose situation. Why then does it matter if they prefer the ambiguity of the status quo? Why is it so urgent that they make a choice they clearly don’t want to make?
To me, the Taiwanese people have already silently made that choice of independence. Even if independence isn’t loudly proclaimed, Taiwan is still silently at war with China. Otherwise why spend so much money on war equipment from the US, and why have mandatory military service?
To me, the rest of the world powers, the G7, can jointly recognize Taiwan. At that point China will loudly complain and declare hurt feelings, but they will back off. Because there will be nothing they can do unless they want to become the world enemy.
What do you mean silently made the choice? The Taiwanese people have never really had a say. Taiwan existed under a far right wing dictatorship for decades after the Chinese civil war was left unresolved. Local opposition to the KMT government were massacred. The current democracy is still incredibly young and very flawed. It’s not surprising that they still have militaristic holdovers from the dictatorship. They still operate with the same constitution!
They still operate with the same constitution!
This is not some gotcha as you think it is. Its just a bullshit talking point.
Changing the constitution would be perceived as an official declaration of independence and a potential ignition point for war. Recognize that its a catch 22 situation. No one is going to change it until the threat of war is over.
