Chinese President Xi Jinping has given a clear warning to the pro-independence forces of Taiwan, an island nation with a population of 23 million people. He said in his New Year speech on Tuesday (31 December) that no one can stop the merger of Taiwan with China. China has increased military pressure on Taiwan over the past year by sending warships close to its borders and violating airspace almost daily. Taiwanese officials have described this as China’s attempt to normalize its military presence on the island.
China considers democratically ruled Taiwan as its territory. Whereas Taiwan has strongly rejected such claims of Beijing and said that only the people of Taiwan can decide its future and Beijing should respect this decision. In a televised speech, Xi Jinping said, ‘The people of Taiwan and China are one family. No one can break our family bonds, and no one can stop Taiwan’s unification with China. Last year too, Xi had said in his New Year speech that Taiwan’s unification with China was inevitable and that people on both sides should ‘stick to this spirit of common purpose and be proud of the rise of the Chinese nation.’
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Tensions between China and Taiwan have increased in the past few years, especially after Lai Ching-tey became President of Taiwan in May 2024. China considers Lai Ching-te a ‘separatist’ leader who advocates an independent and sovereign Taiwan. China has been clearly saying that it will not shy away from using force to take control of Taiwan. Since President Lai Ching-te came to power, China has conducted three rounds of military exercises. According to Taiwan officials, China held the final maneuvers on a much larger scale earlier this month. However, the maneuver was not officially confirmed by Beijing. Let us tell you that many countries including America support the independence and sovereignty of Taiwan, India is also included in them.
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China sends ships and military aircraft near the island almost daily. Recently, China had objected to America providing military aid to Taiwan. US President Joe Biden had announced that he has provided military aid worth 571 million dollars to Taiwan. He took this step under the authority of the US President to allocate assistance to a foreign state through weapons and military equipment. Opposing Biden’s decision, China’s Foreign Ministry said, ‘America has once again approved military aid and arms sales to China’s Taiwan region. This is a serious violation of the One-China Policy and the three joint communiques between China and the United States, especially the communiqué of August 17, 1982.