Chinese President Xi Jinping has made a strong pitch for the reunification of Taiwan with the mainland amidst heightened tensions with the estranged island, saying the Taiwan question will be resolved and it brooks no external interference. Xi's comments came after China sent a record number of military jets into Taiwan's air defence zone for four days in a row, in a public show of force.Taiwan considers itself a sovereign state - but China views the self-ruled island as a breakaway province. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve unification.
Speaking in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the revolution that ended the country's last imperial dynasty, Xi on Saturday said the biggest obstacle to the reunification of China was the "Taiwan independence" force. The Taiwan question arose out of the weakness and chaos of the Chinese nation and it will be resolved as national rejuvenation becomes a reality, Xi, also the General Secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC),said. "This is determined by the general trend of Chinese history, but more importantly, it is the common will of all Chinese people," Xi said. Xi Jingping asserted that the Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference. "The complete reunification of our country will be and can be realised," he stressed.
The 1911 Revolution led by nationalists headed by Dr Sun Yat-sen ended 2,132 years of imperial rule and 276 years of Manchu rule, and heralded the beginning of China's republican era followed by the formation of People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.Taiwan separated from the PRC in 1949 while fighting a civil war with the CPC headed by Mao Zedong.
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