We are family
A family reunion is just a matter of time.
So says Xi Jinping, who met with former Taiwanese President and Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, Ma Ying-jeou, on Wednesday.
Ma and Xi last met in 2015 during the former’s presidency at a historic summit in Singapore.
- But hopes for a renaissance in cross-strait ties were dashed when Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan’s 2016 presidential election.
- This is Ma’s second visit to the mainland in as many years.
Xi highlighted the ties that bind (Xinhua):
- “Both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same Chinese nation.”
- “[We] share the same bloodline, culture and history [and] responsibility for the nation.”
Xi said that compared to that common bond, politics are small potatoes:
- “Difference in systems does not alter the reality that both sides of the Strait belong to one China.”
- “There are…no issues that cannot be discussed, and no force that can separate us.”
He also called for rejecting separatism and foreign interference in favor of “the bright future of peaceful reunification.”
Ma quite agreed, saying that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have the wisdom to “handle cross-Strait disputes peacefully and avoid conflicts” (AP).
Get smart: Xi’s emphasis on peace and kinship tells us that Beijing will continue trying to win over Taiwan by persuasion rather than force.
Get real: A growing majority of Taiwanese do not see themselves as Chinese and have no interest in reunification.
- There’s no inducement that Xi could realistically make to change that.