Chinese head of state and party leader Xi Jinping (69) has threatened Taiwan with military action. China strives for peaceful “unification”, “but we will never commit ourselves to give up the use of force,” the president said on Sunday at the start of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing, which takes place only every five years (here are the main questions answered at the conference).
The Chinese leadership retains the “option to take all necessary measures”. These targeted foreign interference and a “small number” of pro-independence troops, “not the compatriots in Taiwan,” Xi Jinping stressed. “The full reunification of the homeland must be achieved and can be achieved.”
The communist leadership sees the democratic island republic only as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. On the other hand, Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, has long considered itself independent. Tensions had recently escalated after China stepped up military activities near the island to increase pressure on Taiwan. (SDA)