Taiwan responds to China's refusal to "peacefully reunify"

Taiwan called on CHINA to accept the objective fact that the island does not belong to the mainland and take the path of negotiations. Earlier, the Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China spoke about the importance of reunification with the Republic of China, but omitted the word "peaceful" Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang speaks at the opening of the National People's Congress

Taiwan called on China for dialogue amid the “two sessions” taking place in Beijing, where, as the media noticed, the usual rhetoric about “peaceful reunification” with the island was not heard, but an increase in military spending was announced. The corresponding statement was posted on the website of the Mainland Affairs Council, the Taiwanese department that oversees relations with Beijing.

“We once again call on the Communist Party of China to recognize the objective fact that neither side of the Taiwan Strait belongs to the other, abandon inflexible political thinking, and create favorable conditions for healthy and orderly exchanges and friendly interaction between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait through communication and dialogue without preliminaries. conditions," the statement said. The department also reaffirmed the Taiwanese authorities' commitment to firmly defend the sovereignty and democracy of the Republic of China.

On March 4-5, the People's Republic of China (PRC, the official name of mainland China) hosted the country's main political event - the so-called two sessions. The first day was a meeting of the advisory body, the People's Political Consultative Council, and the second was a meeting of the National People's Congress (NPC), the highest legislative body.

As REUTERS noted , Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, who delivered a report to parliament, stated the need for reunification with Taiwan, but omitted the definition of “peaceful,” which usually accompanied any statement by the Chinese authorities on the topic. Instead, the politician noted that China needs to be “firm” on this issue. The agency noted that this is not the first time Beijing has departed from traditional rhetoric regarding unification with Taiwan, but the current change in wording may indicate a general toughening of the position of the Chinese leadership.

After defeat in the civil war in 1949, supporters of the Nationalist Party that ruled China, the Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Communist government and declared itself the sole legitimate authority on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. At first, most of the world community shared the same opinion, and it was the Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan) that had a place in the UN.

However, in 1971, the right of representation at the UN passed to communist China, and in the following years, international support for the Kuomintang government gradually weakened. Currently, only 12 states recognize Taiwan's independence: Belize, Guatemala, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and Eswatini. China considers the government in Taiwan to be separatists and the island itself a province.

A draft budget was also prepared for the NPC meeting, providing for an increase in defense spending by a record 7.2%, to 1.67 trillion yuan ($231 billion) in 2024 . At the same time, the target GDP is 5%, as follows from the document.

It was previously reported that, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) , Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered the military to prepare for the forceful takeover of Taiwan by 2027, when the 100th anniversary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will be celebrated. By this year, Xi plans to transform the country's armed forces into a “world-class” army. However, in the summer of 2023, CIA DIRECTOR William Burns suggested that the Chinese leadership doubted that it could carry out “a successful full-scale invasion of Taiwan at an acceptable cost.”

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In his latest New Year's address, the Chinese leader also mentioned reunification with Taiwan, calling it a "historic necessity." "Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should join hands and share the great glory of national rejuvenation," Xi Jinping said. On January 9 , BLOOMBERG reported that a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan would cost the global economy $10 trillion, and its consequences would be greater than those resulting from the covid-19 pandemic and fighting in Ukraine .