Chinese H-6 Bomber Near Taiwan, Still Until 2017
Photo: HANDOUT / AFP
Mao Hsiao Kong, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the Chinese government, held a press conference in Beijing and stated more clearly and decisively than usual that there is no alternative to unifying China and Taiwan.
Mao assured reporters that the Chinese government is currently finding a similar legal and political solution as the most obvious one, as has been realized in the Hong Kong case. That is, Beijing will also annex Taiwan according to the “one country, two systems” principle.
The spokesman said that while Beijing respects Taiwan’s social organization and various political and religious culture, the unification of the two countries is inevitable. The goal is to achieve all this peacefully.
The island nation has had an independent government since 1949, but China still considers Taiwan its own territory. The Chinese government passed the Anti-Secession Law in 2005, which states that if Taiwan takes further steps toward independence, Beijing must take all steps to protect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Tensions between the two countries have renewed since Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives in Washington, traveled to Taiwan in August, along with a number of US representatives and governors. As a response, China has launched military exercises of an unprecedented scale in the waters around the island nation. (Reuters)
