China. Xi Jinping: The motherland must unite and will inevitably unite

Xi Jinping delivered a speech during a symposium commemorating the 130th birthday of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong, who defeated the government of the Republic of China in 1949 in a civil war that moved to Taiwan as a result of these events.

“The complete unification of the motherland is an inevitable trend,” Xi said. “The motherland must inevitably be reunified,” the Chinese leader told Communist Party activists.

He stressed that China should deepen the integration between Beijing and Taipei, promote the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and “resolutely prevent the separation of Taiwan from China by any means.”

In his speech, Xi did not mention the use of force against Taiwan, although – as Reuters points out – China has never ruled out such a possibility. He also did not mention the upcoming elections in Taiwan.

The presidential and parliamentary elections in Taiwan will be held on January 13. Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which Beijing views as separatist, is leading the polls. Meanwhile, the main opposition Kuomintang, which supports closer ties with Beijing, has vowed to resume talks with China if it wins the election.

Recently, the activity of the Chinese military near Taiwan has increased, which – according to observers – is related to the upcoming elections on the island, which China described as “a choice between war and peace”.

China's military regularly stages demonstrative maneuvers of its navy and air force to express displeasure with political developments in Taiwan, whose democratically elected government is not recognized by Beijing.