China will offer firm support to the “pro-reunification patriotic forces” in Taiwan and will harshly attack the “separatists”, said the main Chinese official for policy towards the island, in comments published this Tuesday.
China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory despite objections from the Taipei government, has stepped up military and political pressure on the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.
Speaking at this year’s “Taiwan Work Conference” — an important meeting that sets the tone for Chinese policy toward the island — the Communist Party’s fourth most powerful leader, Wang Huning, said authorities must promote the “great cause of national reunification,” state news agency Xinhua reported.
Take advantage of the stock market rise!
It is necessary to “firmly support the patriotic pro-reunification forces on the island, resolutely attack the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces, oppose interference from external forces, and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Wang said, according to Xinhua.
Taiwan’s government, which maintains that only the island’s people can decide its future, reacted by saying Wang merely repeated Beijing’s usual talking points about opposing separatism and aiming to take ultimate control of Taiwan.
“China’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the Republic of China and advance unification,” Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, the body responsible for policy toward mainland China, said in a statement, referring to the island’s formal name.
Continues after advertising
Although the Xinhua report did not mention the use of force, China never renounced the military option to bring Taiwan under its control. The Chinese Ministry of Defense, in turn, adopted an even harsher tone when commenting on Taiwanese military mobilizations.
“If the ‘Taiwan independence’ armed forces dare to provoke a conflict, they will inevitably be exterminated,” said ministry spokesman Jiang Bin on Tuesday in Beijing.
China refuses to engage in dialogue with the current president of Taiwan and has rejected his repeated offers of negotiation, saying he is a “separatist” who needs to accept that Taiwan is part of China.
