Chinese leader Xi Jinping said in his New Yearʼs address that Chinaʼs "reunification" with Taiwan is inevitable.
This is reported by Reuters and AFP.
Jinping stated that "this is the main national interest and this is what the people want." "Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common goal and share the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation," he noted.
- China is increasing military pressure and its claims to sovereignty over democratic Taiwan. In 2013, its aircraft flew into Taiwanʼs air defense identification zone more than 1 700 times.
- Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Taiwan on January 13. China has expressed displeasure with current Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate of Taiwanʼs ruling Democratic Party, who is leading in the polls.
- On December 20, 2023, NBC wrote that Xi Jinping directly told Joe Biden during the summit in San Francisco that China intends to annex Taiwan, but allegedly peacefully, not by force. When Biden asked that China respect Taiwanʼs election process, Xi responded that peace was "all good" but that China needed to move toward a settlement.