Chinese President Xi Jinping moderated the level of his remarks toward Taiwan, emphasizing his stance of "peaceful unification" and "cross-Strait (China-Taiwan) dialogue" with Taiwan ahead of a series of large-scale political events such as this month's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, the U.S.-China summit, and Taiwan's local elections.
According to Xinhua News Agency on the 12th, President Xi Jinping said in his speech at the '160th Anniversary of the Birth of Sun Yat-Sen' held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on this day, "Teacher Sun Yat-Sen has always firmly defended national unity and national unity, and resolutely opposed all words and actions that divide the country and nation. Solving the Taiwan issue and realizing the complete unification of the motherland is the unchanging historical mission of the Communist Party of China and the great cause of the Chinese nation." “It is an inevitable need for revival,” he said.
President Xi reaffirmed his will for unification by quoting Sun Yat-sen's words, such as "China is a unified country," "'unification' is the hope of the entire Chinese people," and "I will mobilize all my influence to work for national unification," and also repeatedly emphasized his opposition to "Taiwan independence," as if targeting Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). However, on this day, he increased the proportion of mentions of "peace."
He said, "All compatriots on both sides of the strait are Chinese, and we are a family with blood ties that are thicker than water. If families stay together and talk well and discuss a lot, there is no contradiction or difference of opinion that cannot be resolved."
President Xi continued, "As we look to the future, we will adhere to the policy of 'peaceful unification, one country, two systems', build on the 'One China' principle and the '92 Formula' (a 1992 agreement between both sides to recognize one China but use their own names), and work with knowledgeable people from all walks of life in Taiwan on cross-Strait relations and national affairs. “I want to talk about unification,” he emphasized.
He warned, "We will fully consider Taiwan's reality and fully consider the interests and feelings of our Taiwanese compatriots, but we will absolutely not leave any space for various forms of 'Taiwan independence' divisive activities."
President Xi said, "Taiwan's future lies in national unification, and the interests and happiness of Taiwan's compatriots depend on the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Compatriots on both sides of the Strait and all Chinese children at home and abroad must join hands to oppose the forces of 'Taiwan independence' division and strive for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and the realization of the complete unification of the motherland. The historical trend cannot be reversed, and the complete reunification of the motherland will definitely be realized."
Sun Yat-sen (1866-1925) was the person who led the successful Xinhai Revolution in 1911 and ushered in the dawn of 'modern China.' He served as the Provisional President of the Republic of China (1912) and the Provisional President (1921-1923), and formed the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) in 1919 under the banner of three peoples (civil rights, nationality, and people's livelihood). Through the first Sino-Communist collaboration (1924), it embraced the early power of the Chinese Communist Party and also supported Korea's independence movement.
Even today, Taiwan highly regards Sun Yat-sen as the 'father of the nation', and China highly regards him as a 'revolutionary pioneer' ahead of Mao Zedong.
In particular, China, which recognizes Sun Yat-sen as a symbol of unification and national revival, strictly manages Sun Yat-sen's tomb (Zhongshanling) in Nanjing and commemorates Sun Yat-sen by installing a large portrait in Beijing's Tiananmen Square every major anniversary. On this day, President Xi also connected ‘patriotism’ and ‘the Chinese Communist Party’s rise to power’ with Sun Yat-sen’s ideology.
President Xi Jinping's mention of Taiwan, which increased the importance of 'peace' on this day, is evaluated as a somewhat conciliatory gesture compared to China's previous stance of 'unification by force'.
At the National Day reception on September 30th of this year, President Xi spoke of the 'peaceful development of cross-Strait relations' while also raising his voice, saying, "We must firmly strike the forces that divide Taiwan's independence and oppose interference by external forces." However, on this day, strong expressions such as 'force' and 'striking' decreased.
Some say that President Xi's change in tone may be a ploy to prepare for political 'big events' that will take place in China and Taiwan this month.
China, which has been trying to highlight its appearance as a 'responsible power', will invite the leaders of major Asia-Pacific countries, including Korea, the United States, and Japan, to the APEC Summit (18th-19th) this month. A U.S.-China summit is scheduled at a time when major issues such as the Ukraine War, Iran War, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and trade conflict are numerous, and the possibility of a U.S.-China-Russia summit is also being discussed. The Taiwan issue is considered one of the main agendas of the US-China summit.
Some interpretations have been raised that the intention may be to put pressure on Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party and strengthen the opposition Kuomintang Party by contrasting 'division and independence' with 'peaceful unification and development' ahead of Taiwan's local elections on the 28th of this month.
China is continuing to interact with the Kuomintang, which is conciliatory toward China, while excluding the Democratic Progressive Party, which has an 'anti-China and independence' tendency. Some analysts say that there may have been a calculation that if they make hard-line remarks ahead of Taiwan's election, Democratic Progressive Party supporters will rally and the Kuomintang, which China prefers, will be at a disadvantage.
