Taiwan reunification with China ‘inevitable’, says Chinese President Xi Jinping

Taiwan reunification with China ‘inevitable’, says Chinese President Xi Jinping

News:

China asserting Taiwan’s unification with the mainland is inevitable.

Important Facts:

• Taiwan is a sovereign state, with its own currency, political and judicial systems, but has never declared formal independence from the mainland While Beijing still sees Taiwan as part of China’s sovereign territory despite the island’s breakaway from the mainland at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.
• According to China, if Taiwan submits to Chinese rule, it would enjoy its own system of governance under a ‘one country, two systems’ model.
• Taiwan has never formally declared independence from mainland China, but relations have come under pressure since the election of Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen in 2016.
• Taiwan also has very few diplomatic allies with a series of defections to China taking place in 2018, and it is not granted membership or access to international organizations such as the United Nations or the World Health Organization.

What is the ‘One China’ policy

• It is the diplomatic acknowledgement of China’s position that there is only one Chinese government.
• Under the policy, the US recognizes and has formal ties with China rather than the island of Taiwan, which China sees as a breakaway province to be reunified with the mainland one day.
• The One China policy is a key cornerstone of Sino-US relations. It is also a fundamental bedrock of Chinese policy-making and diplomacy. However, it is distinct from the One China principle, whereby China insists Taiwan is an inalienable part of one China to be reunified one day.
• Although Taiwan’s government claims it is an independent country officially called the “Republic of China”, any country that wants diplomatic relations with mainland China must break official ties with Taipei.
• This has resulted in Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation from the international community.