Taiwan sees extra Chinese language coercion, intimidation in Xi’s subsequent time period By Reuters

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan expects China to extend its coercion and intimidation to attain its objective of bringing the island beneath Beijing’s management as soon as President Xi Jinping assumes a 3rd time period in workplace, a senior Taiwanese minister mentioned on Thursday.

Beijing’s once-in-five years management reshuffle is about for the Communist Get together congress that begins Oct. 16, the place Xi is poised to interrupt with precedent and safe a 3rd management time period.

China views democratically ruled Taiwan as its personal territory and has ramped up navy and political strain to claim sovereignty claims, together with staging warfare video games close to the island in August after U.S. Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei.

Talking to lawmakers, Chiu Tai-san, the pinnacle of Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, mentioned Xi will additional consolidate his energy on the celebration congress.

“Following that, the energy of the Chinese language Communist Get together will step by step increase, together with the continual emphasis on selling the reunification course of in its improvement technique,” Chiu mentioned.

“We consider that the Beijing authorities’ work on Taiwan has entered the stage of strengthening the apply of the so-called ‘anti-independence and selling reunification’,” he added

China will do that by utilizing “coercion and intimidation”, “gray zone” actions and worldwide regulation to “intrude with and hinder Taiwan’s interplay and cooperation with the worldwide neighborhood to attain its targets in direction of Taiwan”, Chiu mentioned.

China has by no means renounced the usage of drive to deliver Taiwan beneath its management, however has additionally pledged to work for peaceable “reunification” with Taiwan beneath a “one nation, two programs” mannequin.

All mainstream Taiwanese political events have rejected that proposal and it has nearly no public help, based on opinion polls.

China’s Taiwan Affairs Workplace didn’t reply calls looking for remark. The nation is in the course of a weeklong nationwide vacation.

China refuses to talk to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, re-elected by a landslide in 2020 on a promise to face as much as Beijing, believing she is a separatist. Tsai has repeatedly provided talks based mostly on parity and mutual respect.

(This story has been refiled to insert Taiwan president’s full identify and title in closing paragraph)