Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that reunification with Taiwan "will be and can be realized," less than a week after Beijing sent record numbers of warplanes into the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) near the self-ruled island.
Xi’s remarks on Taiwan, which came in a speech marking the 1911 uprising that toppled the last Qing emperor and led to the founding of the Republic of China, largely followed the tack set in his last high-profile comments on the issue in July. At that time, the Chinese leader declared taking control of Taiwan as the Communist Party’s "historic mission” and "unshakable commitment" and vowed to "smash" any attempts at independence.
In Saturday’s speech, Xi said China would “adhere to the basic policies of peaceful reunification and ‘one country, two systems,’ uphold the ‘One China principle’ and the 1992 consensus and work for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.”