China’s government has been accused of pursuing its plans of “unification” with Taiwan on a “much faster timeline” under President Xi Jinping.
According to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while a “status quo” had been successfully maintained for decades between China and its breakaway province Taiwan, Beijing has changed its approach of late. In a conversation with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University on Monday, Blinken said:
“Instead of sticking with the status quo that was established in a positive way, [Beijing has made] a fundamental decision that the status quo is no longer acceptable, and Beijing is determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline.”
He added that if peaceful means didn’t work, then China might employ coercive means, or even, maybe, “forceful means to achieve its objective,” warning that disrupting the status quo would create “tremendous tensions.”
Antony Blinken voiced Washington’s "concerns" regarding Taiwan – a breakaway province seen by Beijing as an inalienable part of its territory – against the backdrop of China’s governing Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress, which started on Sunday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said at the opening of the 20th Congress in Beijing that "in the face of serious provocations by separatist forces calling for Taiwan’s independence, and interference from outside forces," China would "protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity."
China will sincerely seek peaceful reunification with Taiwan, but cannot exclude the use of force, Xi Jinping said, amid increasing frustration with “foreign interference” in what Beijing considers a domestic matter.
"With all our efforts, we sincerely insist on the prospect of peaceful reunification, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the possibility of taking all necessary measures against the interference of external forces and the extremely small number of pro-Taiwan independence separatists and their secessionist activities," Xi said.
The Chinese leader underscored that his nation has "taken a clear-cut stance against hegemonism and power politics" and "never wavered" in opposing unilateralism and "bullying," referring to, but not naming, the US. Indeed, these remarks can be seen as being addressed to Washington, which has been pursuing a particularly provocative stance regarding the issue of Taiwan. China has repeatedly warned Washington against meddling in its internal affairs.
‘Playing With Fire’
The island of Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949, when it split from the mainland during a civil war that resulted in the Communist Party taking control. Beijing’s official policy envisions a peaceful unification of Taiwan with mainland China. Despite rounds of talks with island authorities over several decades, Taipei has persistently rejected Beijing’s proposal for "one country, two systems."
Despite ending formal recognition of Taiwan after establishing diplomatic relations with mainland China's Communist government in 1979, and reaffirming its commitment to the "One China" policy, Washington has persistently taunted Beijing.
The US has continued to openly send military aid to Taiwan informally via the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States, which function as their respective unofficial embassies. Amid continued weapons sales to Taiwan and the building up of US rhetoric about alleged Chinese “aggression” and the need to defend Taiwanese “democracy,” tensions were taken to a new high after a visit by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to Taipei in August as part of her Asia tour.
"One who plays with fire will certainly burn himself,” Chinese President Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden about the consequences of the provocative move and meddling in the country's internal affairs.
No one of Pelosi’s stature had visited the island since 1997, but her decision opened the door to a spate of subsequent visits of US lawmakers to the island. Viewing the trips as a gesture of support for separatism, China responded by holding large-scale military exercises in the vicinity of the island.