3/13/2024 11:13:07 AM

Party vs cult: Is Xi gearing up for a gamble of a forced integration of Taiwan?

In August 2000, Xi Jinping, on taking over as Governor of Fujian Province, gave a rare interview to the Chinese magazine Zhonghua Ernü, emphasising that “a new leader needed to set his own agenda in the first year” and “like a relay race, take the baton from the past leaders and run it past properly”. 

Twelve years later, in his address as President in 2012, he re-emphasised the baton analogy again to achieve “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”. As in 2000, he set out his own agenda to run the race differently from his predecessors, with a distinctive strategy and at an accelerated pace. Xi’s articulation of the new path removed the four decades of the Chinese facade of peaceful development.

Within a year of Xi in office, China News Service, the second largest state-run media outlet, published an article titled, ‘Six Wars China Must Fight in Next 50 Years’, chronicled as follows: (a) The War to unify Taiwan (2020-2025); (b) Recover the islands of South China Sea (2025-2030); (c) Reconquest of Southern Tibet (2035-2040); (d) Reconquest of Diaoyutai and Ryukyu Islands (2040-45); (e) Re-unification of Outer Mongolia; and (f) War to recover territory seized by the Russia (2055-2060). This was one of the clearest articulations of the Chinese strategic objectives along with precise timelines, with re-integration of Taiwan being the highest dream.

Historically, China espouses peaceful unification of Taiwan, mainly due to three critical considerations: (a) the United States (US)’ commitment of military support to Taiwan against Chinese aggression through the Taiwan Relations Act 1979; (b) Complexity of cross-strait amphibious operations; (c) If failed, it may lead to permanent loss of the unification dream and denting the Chinese image internationally.

Read Full Article:

Share This Article

Related Articles

India targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, says Modi

India’s economy will become carbon neutral by the year 2070, the country’s prime minster has announced at the COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow. The target date is two decades beyond what scientists say is needed to avert catastrophic climate impacts. India is the last of the world’s major carbon polluters to announce a net-zero target, with China saying it would reach that goal in 2060, and the United States and the European Union aiming for 2050.

COP26: What climate summit means for one woman in Bangladesh

China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.

Why China's climate policy matters to us all

China's carbon emissions are vast and growing, dwarfing those of other countries. Experts agree that without big reductions in China's emissions, the world cannot win the fight against climate change. In 2020, China's President Xi Jinping said his country would aim for its emissions to reach their highest point before 2030 and for carbon neutrality before 2060. His statement has now been confirmed as China's official position ahead of the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow. But China has not said exactly how these goals will be achieved.

Deliver on promises, developing world tells rich at climate talks

A crucial U.N. conference heard calls on its first day for the world's major economies to keep their promises of financial help to address the climate crisis, while big polluters India and Brazil made new commitments to cut emissions. World leaders, environmental experts and activists all pleaded for decisive action to halt the global warming which threatens the future of the planet at the start of the two-week COP26 summit in the Scottish city of Glasgow on Monday. The task facing negotiators was made even more daunting by the failure of the Group of 20 major industrial nations to agree ambitious new commitments at the weekend.