China's Xi Jinping renews calls for 'reunification' with Taiwan

Xi Jinping says he wants peaceful reunification but in the past hasn't ruled out the use of forceImage: Ng Han Guan/AP Photo/picture allianceAdvertisementChinesePresident Xi Jinping has renewed his calls for "reunification” with Taiwanbut refrained from mentioning the use of force.

"The historical trends are unstoppable. The complete reunification of our motherland must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized," Xi said on Thursday.

His comments came in a speech marking the 160th birthday of Sun Yat-sen, the political leader who helped lead the 1911 revolution that overthrew China's imperial dynasty and led to the founding the Republic of China.

The Taiwanese government swiftly rebuffed the remarks, saying the territory would not accept submitting to the rule of China's Communist Party.

After the founding of the Republic of China in 1912, a civil war broke out in 1927 between the Nationalists and the Communists.

After the end of Japanese occupation and World War II, the Communists led by Mao Zedong gained the upper hand and the Nationalists retreated to the island of Taiwan in 1949.

Since then, both the People's Republic of China on the mainland and the Republic of China in Taiwan claim to be the legitimate heirs of Sun Yat-sen's political legacy.

Under the so-called One China policy, the majority of the international community recognizes only Communist China on the mainland as a state. Many countries nevertheless also maintain unofficial diplomatic, economic and cultural ties with Taiwan, which is self-governed and democratic. 

While the speech by the Chinese president was largely about commemorating Sun Yat-sen, it was his remarks about Taiwan that drew international attention.

Xi said that reunification was an unwavering historical mission for the Communist Party and that "we will never leave any room for ‘Taiwan independence' separatist activities in any form.”

"We will definitely give full consideration to Taiwan's realities and take full account of the interests and feelings of our compatriots in Taiwan.

"Mr. Sun Yat-sen consistently upheld the unity of the country and the solidarity of the nation, and he firmly opposed all words and actions that split the country or the nation," he added.

While not mentioning military force in his speech, the Chinese leader has on several occasions in the past said that Beijing would not rule out military force to bring Taiwan under its control.

In response to Xi's speech on Thursday, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council reiterated that neither the government nor the people of Taiwan would accept being placed under Beijing's rule.

"As for the wording on Taiwan unification, it isn't much different from ​the past," council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh told reporters.

Xi Jinping's speech came ahead on an APEC summit in the Chinese city of Shenzhen where the Chinese leader is expected to meet with US President Donald Trump.

The US has over the past decades been backing Taiwan's resistance against Chinese demands, supplying the island with vital arms support.

China has in past years intensified its military operations around the island and in the Taiwan Strait, widely seen as both attempts to intimidate Taipei and to possibly practice for an eventual military operation.

On Thursday, Taiwan said that Chinese fighter jets and drones had begun carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" alongside Chinese warships around the island.