China's President Xi Jinping warns of 'complex' and 'grim' situation with Taiwan

In a congratulatory letter to Taiwan’s newly elected opposition leader, China’s President Xi Jinping said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is “complex and grim.” The newly minted leader of Taiwan’s main opposition party has reportedly pledged to restart talks with Beijing. Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) elected Eric Chu as their leader on September 25 who is also the former Taipei City mayor. He has already talked about rekindling the high-level talks with China’s Communist Party.

Even though China has never ruled the island, it claims Taiwan as its own breakaway province. Beijing has also said that it is ready to ramp up military and political pressure to force the self-ruled democratic island to accept Chinese sovereignty. In his letter to Chu, the copy of which was released by the KMT, Xi said that both parties had had “good interactions” based on their joint opposition to Taiwan’s independence. 

Chinese President and leader of the Communist Party, Xi wrote in the letter, “At present, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and grim. All the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation must work together with one heart and go forward together.” Xi expressed hope that both parties could cooperate on “seeking peace in the Taiwan Strait, seeking national reunification and seeking national revitalization.”

Chu blamed Tsai's party for China tensions

Chu lost badly in the 2016 presidential election to the current President of the island Tsai Ing-wen. Now KMT leader responded to Xi saying that people on both sides of the Taiwan strait were “all the children of the Yellow Emperor” in other words, all ‘Han Chinese.’ Chu has blamed the party of Taiwan President, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for tensions with China after pursuing the policies against China. 

Chu has met with Xi in China back in 2015 and said in the reply letter to “seek common ground and respect differences, increase mutual trust and geniality, strengthen exchanges and cooperation so as to allow the continued peaceful development of cross-strait relations.” The talks with China were stalled under the KMT’s outgoing leader, Johnny Chiang’s 17-month tenure due to suspicion that the Taiwanese party was not satisfactorily committed to the idea that Taiwan was part of “one China.”

IMAGE: AP