Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to realize 'reunification' with Taiwan, though did not directly mention the use of force, following a week of tensions with the Chinese-claimed island.
By Carlos Garcia and Yew Lun Tian
Democratically ruled Taiwan has come under increased military and political pressure from Beijing to accept its sovereignty, but Taipei has pledged to defend its freedom. Peaceful "reunification" best meets the overall interests of the Taiwanese people, but China will protect its sovereignty and unity, he added.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson reiterated Washington's "rock-solid" commitment to Taiwan and said the United States will "continue to support a peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, consistent with the wishes and best interests of the people on Taiwan." Taiwan officially calls itself the Republic of China, the name of the country established in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty.
Tsai, speaking at a pre-national day reception at an air base in northern Taiwan's Hsinchu on Saturday night, thanked the armed forces for protecting Taiwan, though did not mention the tensions with China.China commemorates the revolution by harking back to republican leader Sun Yat-sen's calls for patriotism, national rejuvenation and good governance.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Chinese President vows to pursue 'reunification' with Taiwan by peaceful meansChinese President Xi Jinping vowed to pursue 'reunification' with Taiwan by peaceful means in a speech in Beijing on Saturday.
Read more »
China’s Xi Emphasizes ‘Peaceful Reunification’ With Taiwan, Days After Record Show of Force“The historical task of the complete reunification of the motherland must be fulfilled, and can definitely be fulfilled,” Xi Jinping said, adding that achieving that goal by peaceful means is in the interests of people in Taiwan.
Read more »
Reunification with Taiwan 'must be and will be realised': China's XiPresident Xi's statement came after Chinese air force mounted four straight days of incursions into Taiwan's air defence identification zone from October 1, involving close to 150 aircraft, though those missions have since ended.
Read more »
How Close Did Chinese Military Jets Really Get to Taiwan?The flights were unprecedented, but not quite as brazen as they may have seemed.
Read more »
Why are tensions escalating between China and Taiwan?Taiwan fears that China is preparing for a full scale invasion and wants to spend additional $8.7 billion on arms purchases. Despite its deep insecurities, the tiny East Asian nation is seen as becoming another US proxy war pawn.
Read more »
China is ratcheting up military pressure on TaiwanIn recent years China has been putting on bigger displays of its growing military capability as a warning to Taiwan
Read more »