Beijing ‘won’t allow Taiwan reunification to be postponed indefinitely’
- Cai Peihui, representing self-ruled island at legislative session, also says mainland will not hesitate to ‘liberate’ Taiwan if it declares independence
- Another delegate, Huang Zhixian, tells panel independence-leaning parties ‘are not qualified’ to talk to Beijing about ‘one country, two systems’
Beijing will not put off reunification with Taiwan forever but it hopes to bring the self-ruled island back into the China fold through peaceful means, according to a National People’s Congress delegate.
In an interview, Cai Peihui described Chinese President Xi Jinping as “an aspiring and visionary leader” and said “he will not allow [the reunification agenda] to be postponed indefinitely”.
Cai is one of 13 members of the Taiwan delegation – all of whom have a connection to the island but do not live there – attending the annual legislative session in Beijing.
Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province subject to eventual reunification with the mainland, by force if necessary. It has for years called for this to happen under the “one country, two systems” model used in Hong Kong – something Taipei has rejected as unacceptable.