Xi Jinping: No one can stop the reunification of China and Taiwan

(Patria) - No one can stop the reunification of China with Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said yesterday in his New Year's address.

Beijing intensified military pressure on Taiwan, a democratically governed island nation of 23 million people, in the outgoing year, sending warships and fighter jets near its territory almost daily.

Taiwanese officials have called this a gradual attempt by Beijing to normalize the Chinese military presence.

China considers Taiwan its territory, but the government in Taipei rejects these claims and emphasizes that only its residents can choose their future and that Beijing must respect their decision.

- People on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family. No one can threaten our family ties, and no one can stop the historical trend of our national reunification - Xi said in his address on state television.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait were high throughout 2024, especially after Lai Ching-te, labeled a separatist by Beijing, became the island nation's new president in May.