Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that full unification with Taiwan should be realized ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in Shenzhen, China on the 18th. It is interpreted as a stepping stone to reaffirm China’s “red line” on the Taiwan issue and take the lead in negotiations with the United States.
According to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 12th, President Xi attended the 160th anniversary of Sun Wen’s birth at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and said, “The teacher’s desire and will for the unification of the motherland still gives great enlightenment and courage to Chinese members.” “Solving the Taiwan issue and realizing the full reunification of the motherland is a historical task that the Chinese Communist Party has pursued as ever and a common desire of all Chinese members,” he added.
He also continued to take a tough stance on Taiwan’s independence. President Xi urged, “Cross-strait compatriots and all members of the Chinese nation at home and abroad should join hands and oppose the ‘Taiwan independence’ divisive forces.”
[Beijing correspondent Song Kwang-seop]
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