TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) urged the people of Taiwan to accept the island "must and will be" reunited with China, but Beijing reserved the right to use force, the BBC reported Wednesday.
The Chinese leader’s speech marked the 40th anniversary of the beginning of improving ties, the British broadcaster noted.
In his address in Beijing, Xi also described both sides as “part of the same Chinese family” and rejected Taiwanese independence as “an adverse current from history and a dead end,” the BBC quoted him.
He warned that de facto independence would only bring hardship and added a caution against “foreign interference,” which is widely believed to refer to the likelihood that the United States would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a military confrontation.
The BBC also noted Taiwan’s emphasis on the peaceful resolution of disputes and on respect for its sovereignty. It concluded with the fact that China has been luring away more of Taiwan’s official diplomatic allies while forcing multinational corporations such as airlines and hotel chains to stop referring to Taiwan as a separate country on their websites.
