From Renmin Ribao (人民网, People’s Daily Online), Oct. 12, 2021, http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/1012/c90000-9905834.html. Complete text:
“The complete reunification of our country will be and can be realized,” said Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, at a commemorative meeting on Oct. 9 marking the 110th anniversary of the Revolution of 1911 that ended the country’s thousands-year-long absolute monarchy.
The Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference, Xi said, stressing that no one should underestimate the resolve, the will, and the ability of the Chinese people to defend their national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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 pointed out in his speech.
“This is determined by the general trend of Chinese history, but more importantly, it is the common will of all Chinese people,” he added.
National reunification has been closely intertwined with Chinese people’s dream of realizing the great rejuvenation of the nation since modern times. As Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who led the Revolution of 1911, said, “Unification is the hope of all Chinese people. If China can be unified, all Chinese will enjoy a happy life; if it cannot, all will suffer.”
After the First Opium War broke out in 1840, Western powers came to act with impunity on Chinese lands, and feudal rulers were rendered weak and ineffectual. Gradually, China was reduced to a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. With the country humiliated, the people subjected to great pain, and the civilization plunged into darkness, the Chinese people and nation suffered greater ravages than ever before.
Since the Revolution of 1911, numerous noble-minded patriots united in rejuvenating China and started to explore a path to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In 1921, the CPC was founded, an epoch-making event that has profoundly changed the future of the Chinese people and nation.
Today, the country is advancing with unstoppable momentum toward rejuvenation and seeing a clearer prospect of national reunification than ever before.
History proves that Chinese communists have been the most steadfast supporters, loyal collaborators, and faithful successors to the revolutionary cause initiated by Dr. Sun.
As Xi said in his speech, national reunification by peaceful means best serves the interests of the Chinese nation as a whole, including compatriots in Taiwan.
China adheres to the basic policies of “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems,” upholds the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, and works for the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Straits, according to Xi.
“Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits should stand on the right side of history and join hands to achieve China’s complete reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” he said.
The Chinese nation has an honorable tradition of opposing division and safeguarding unity. Secession aimed at “Taiwan independence” is the greatest obstacle to national reunification and a grave danger to national rejuvenation.
Those who forget their heritage, betray their motherland, and seek to split the country will come to no good end, Xi said in his speech, adding that they will be disdained by the people and condemned by history.
Stubbornly sticking to the idea of “Taiwan independence,” the Taiwan authorities, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have been for some time willingly serving as chess pieces of external forces in total disregard of the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation and the well-being of Taiwan citizens.
By constantly playing tricks to seek “Taiwan independence” as well as provoking and stirring up troubles for China, the DPP authorities have gravely undermined the peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.
Cross-Strait reunification is a historical trend and the right path, while “Taiwan independence” goes against the trend of history and will lead to a dead end. Against such a backdrop, any attempt to seek “Taiwan independence” is doomed to failure.
It is a widely recognized norm of international relations and an international consensus that there is but one China in the world, that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.
Out of the malicious intention to use Taiwan as a political pawn to contain China, certain countries have frequently stirred up trouble between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits in recent years. Such dangerous acts have shown their total misjudgment in the situation.
After going through hardships and suffering, Chinese people have written a glorious chapter in the history of the Chinese nation. They have realized the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and enjoyed happy and peaceful lives, making great achievements that amaze the world. They are now marching in confident strides toward building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.
On the new journey ahead, the Chinese people, united as one under the leadership of the CPC, will overcome all major risks and challenges that may impede their path to national rejuvenation and resolutely safeguard their national sovereignty, security, and development interests through courage and skill.
The attempt of external forces to hinder the Chinese nation from achieving its great rejuvenation was proven futile, is impossible to get its way, and will be even less likely to work in the future.
As Dr. Sun said, “The trend of the world is surging forward. Those who follow the trend will prosper; those who go against it will perish.”
Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the CPC and also a shared aspiration of all the people of the Chinese nation. All the Chinese people, both at home and abroad, should unite more closely to carry forward the spirit of the pioneers of the Revolution of 1911 including Dr. Sun and move courageously hand in hand toward the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
(Editors: Hongyu and Liang Jun)