Yesterday, China vowed that it would leave “no wiggle room” for Taiwanese independence advocates, stressing that the “use of force” to retake the island is still a “last resort” option.
This new warning comes after intense Chinese military exercises have taken place around the island in recent days in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei.
Beijing considered a “provocation” the visit of a third person in the US power hierarchy, who committed himself not to establish official relations with the lands of the island, which China considers part of its territory.
The Taiwan Affairs Administration, a Chinese government body, released a white paper yesterday detailing how Beijing plans to regain control of the island, especially through economic stimulus.
“We are ready to create a wide space (for cooperation) to achieve peaceful reunification,” the document reads, more like a hand extended to the Taiwanese authorities.
But she added, “We will leave no room for separatist actions aimed at a false independence of Taiwan, whatever they may be.”
China considers Taiwan, with a population of about 23 million, an integral part of its territory, which has so far failed to reunite with the rest of the country since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.
“We have no intention of giving up the use of force,” Beijing said in its white paper, the first since 2000 on the issue.
But then she clarified that “force can be used as a last resort, under force majeure circumstances.
We will have to take strict action in the face of provocations from separatists or outside forces if they cross our red lines.”
The white paper includes promises of economic prosperity after “reunification” as China proposes to strengthen cultural relations in the field of social welfare and health care and even promote better economic “integration”, especially through “preference policy”.
The text states that “with a strong and secure homeland, the citizens of Taiwan will be stronger, more confident, more secure, and more respected in the international arena.”
Since the 1980s, Taiwan’s political system has evolved towards democracy, although it was authoritarian in the past.
Especially in recent years, young people in Taiwan have begun to form an identity that is different from that of mainland China.
This encouraged the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the party of incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office in 2016.
The Taiwan Presidential Party condemned the visit yesterday, saying that “the timing was not only badly chosen,” but “it is also an insult to our military, who spare no effort to protect our country.”
For her part, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said the visit “sends a bad signal to the international community.”