Taiwan rejects Xi Jinping’s calls for reunification on PRC’s 75th anniversary

The Mainland Affairs Council of Taiwan (MAC) has rejected Chinese President Xi Jinping’s claims about Taiwan made during the People’s Republic of China’s 75th anniversary celebrations, local media reported.

At a state banquet held on the eve of the anniversary on September 30, Xi claimed that Taiwan is “China’s sacred territory, and the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are connected by blood, and blood is thicker than water”, Taiwan News reported.

Xi He insisted on continued adherence to Beijing’s “one-China principle” and the “1992 Consensus” and firmly opposed “Taiwan independence separatist activities.”

One China principle is a position held by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that there exists only one sovereign state under the name China, with the PRC serving as the sole legitimate government of China, and Taiwan.

The 1992 consensus refers to the outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the representatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-led People’s Republic of China (PRC) in mainland China and the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan. They are often credited to creating a diplomatic basis between the two.

Xi Jinping said achieving the “complete reunification of the motherland” is “an irreversible trend, a righteous cause, and the will of the people.” He declared, “No one can stop the wheel of history.”

Taiwan News reported that the MAC called on China’s authorities to “face up to the reality that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are not affiliated with each other, rationally face the mainstream public opinion in Taiwan, and engage in pragmatic dialogue with Taiwan’s democratically elected government.” It also called upon Beijing to build goodwill to foster favourable conditions for the development of cross-strait relations.

MAC Minister Chiu Chui-Cheng told the media, “The Republic of China is a sovereign country. Taiwan has never been part of the People’s Republic of China. The reality and objective fact of the Taiwan Strait is that the two sides are not subordinate to each other.”

Chiu added that China’s the ‘one China’ principle and the ‘1992 Consensus’ are opposed by mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.