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Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to prepare for battle on Friday, as Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-Wen called for international support to defend the island’s democracy amid renewed threats of unification from the mainland.

Xi’s comments were made during a meeting with top officials from the Central Military Commission (CMC).

“All military units must correctly understand major national security and development trends, and strengthen their sense of unexpected hardship, crisis and battle,” he said, according to the South China Morning Post.

“[China must] prepare for a comprehensive military struggle from a new starting point… Preparation for war and combat must be deepened to ensure an efficient response in times of emergency," Xi said.

The comments come just days after Xi declared that Taiwan is absolutely a part of China, encouraged unification between the two territories and reserved the right to use force to bring the self-ruled island under the mainland's control.

Tsai condemned Xi’s comments and rejected the Chinese President’s “one country, two systems” proposal, telling reporters in Taipei: “We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us.” If a democratic country under threat does not receive assistance, “we might have to ask which country might be next?” Tsai said.

Last March, Xi Jinping echoed the same sentiment at the National People’s Congress, where he warned Taiwan that those who wish to split China will be “doomed to fail” and will experience “the punishment of history.”

Taiwan became a self-governed island in 1949 following a bloody civil war, though it is still officially considered the Republic of China. Chinese leaders have placed regaining control of the wayward province on the agenda since the founding of the People’s Republic around 70 years ago. However, Taipei has shown no interest in being governed by Beijing’s ruling Communist Party.

China’s hostility towards the island has strengthened since Tsai and the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party triumphed the 2016 presidential elections. The mainland has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Despite fears of an invasion, exacerbated by combat drills near Taiwan, SOAS University of London’s China Institute director and political scientist Steve Tsang told Newsweek last year that the PLA is unlikely to launch a military attack unless a deal is in place with the Trump administration to prevent U.S. interference.

“China does not have the capability to do it in the next five years. If they did, an invasion could lose them most of their frontline, advanced equipment and troops in the process," he said.</s>Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen says she is open to cross-strait talks but only if Beijing promotes democracy and renounces the use of force against the island. Photo: Bloomberg</s>TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Saturday for international support to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy and way of life in the face of renewed threats from China.

Tsai’s comments came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping said nobody could change the fact that Taiwan was part of China, and that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should seek “reunification”.

“We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us,” Tsai told reporters in Taipei, referring to threats by China to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

If the international community did not support a democratic country that was under threat, “we might have to ask which country might be next,?” Tsai added.

Taiwan is China’s most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. Xi has stepped up pressure on the democratic island since Tsai from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became president in 2016.

President Xi said on Wednesday that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful “reunification” with the island.

In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a “one country, two systems” political arrangement with China, while stressing all cross-Strait negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.

Tsai on Saturday also urged China to have a “correct understanding” of what Taiwanese think and said actions such as political bullying were unhelpful in cross-strait relations.</s>Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen called on Saturday for international support to defend the self-ruled island's democracy and way of life in the face of renewed threats from China.

The comments came a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping said the country's armed forces must strengthen their sense of urgency and do everything they can to prepare for battle.

"We hope that the international community takes it seriously and can voice support and help us," Tsai told reporters in Taipei, referring to threats by China to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

If the international community did not support a democratic country that was under threat, "We might have to ask which country might be next?" Tsai added.

Taiwan is China's most sensitive issue and is claimed by Beijing as its sacred territory. Xi has stepped up pressure on the democratic island since Tsai from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party became president in 2016.

President Xi said on Wednesday that China reserves the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control but will strive to achieve peaceful "reunification" with the island.

In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a "one country, two systems" political arrangement with China, while stressing all negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.

Xi's Taiwan speech came just days after US President Donald Trump signed the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act into law, reaffirming the US commitment to the island's security.

Tsai on Saturday also urged China to have a "correct understanding" of what Taiwanese think and said actions such as political bullying were unhelpful in cross-strait relations.

China still sees Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified, despite the two sides being ruled separately since they split in 1949 after a civil war.

China is eager to beef up its armed forces amid territorial disputes in the South China Sea and escalating tension with the United States over issues ranging from trade to the status of Taiwan.

The official Xinhua news agency said on Saturday Xi told a meeting of the top military brass that China faced increasing risks and challenges, and the armed forces must work to secure its security and development needs.

Xi, who is also chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the armed forces must devise strategies for the new era and take on responsibilities for preparing and waging war.

"The world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century, and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development," he was quoted as saying.

He said the armed forces needed to be able to respond quickly to emergencies, needed to upgrade their joint operations capabilities, and nurture new types of combat forces.</s>Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the country's military to be ready for battle and prepare for military conflict, even as Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen yesterday made a call for international support to defend the island's democracy.

Mr Xi, speaking at a meeting of China's top brass, the Central Military Commission (CMC), had said last Friday that China was facing increasing risks and challenges.

"The world is facing a period of major changes never seen in a century and China is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for development," he was reported as saying.

He stressed that the military needed to deepen planning and preparations for war and battle, in order to ensure that if situations arose, it would be able to quickly and effectively deal with them, state news agency Xinhua reported.

Mr Xi's comments came just days after he remarked that China reserved the right to use force to achieve reunification with Taiwan, even as it strives to achieve this goal via peaceful means.

He had said then that reunification with the self-ruled island, which Beijing regards as a renegade province, was inevitable.

His latest comments to the CMC also come amid escalating tensions with the United States over issues including Taiwan's status and trade.

Last Friday, Xinhua reported that Mr Xi - who is also chairman of the CMC - called on the military units to "correctly understand major national security and development trends, strengthen their sense of urgency, crisis and battle, and firmly do the work of preparing for military conflict".

He also signed off on the CMC's first order of 2019 to launch the start of a year of military training.

Since Ms Tsai, who is from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party, became Taiwan's President in 2016, Beijing has been increasing pressure on the self-ruled island.

It suspects that Ms Tsai wants to push for Taiwan's formal independence, which is a red line for Beijing.

Meanwhile, Ms Tsai yesterday responded to China's continued threats, calling on the international community to support and defend Taiwan's democracy and way of life.

"We hope that the international community takes it seriously, and can voice support and help us," Reuters reported Ms Tsai as saying, as she addressed China's threats to use force to bring Taiwan under its control.

Yesterday, the South China Morning Post reported that Ms Tsai was asked if her administration would want talks with Beijing.

She responded by saying Taiwan did not oppose talks, but Beijing must "move towards democracy, protect human rights and renounce the use of force against us".

Shanghai-based military expert Ni Lexiong told The Sunday Times that Mr Xi's speech to the CMC was another clear sign to Taiwan of Beijing's firm position on the issue of reunification.

"This is an important moment and China wants to show that its attitude is firm and clear," said Mr Ni.

Beijing-based security analyst of Beihang University, Professor Wang Xiangsui, noted that since assuming the chairmanship of the CMC in 2012, President Xi had made repeated orders for the People's Liberation Army to raise its combat-readiness.

This was a response against the increasing security challenges facing China, including the United States' view of the country as a strategic competitor and the goal of reunification of the country.

He noted that Taiwan still thinks it can resist reunification with military force and has been buying military equipment to maintain the balance with China.

"So (for Mr Xi) to give these commands to the military, is a natural response to these challenges posed by Taiwan," said Prof Wang.</s>Taiwan’s hard core pro-independence camp has warned the self-ruled island is facing an “imminent crisis” and called on President Tsai Ing-wen to drop her ambitions for a second term and take a back seat role for the rest of her government’s time in office.

Four senior figures from the hardline faction of Tsai’s pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) endorsed an open letter, published on Thursday in several local newspapers, which warned of a party split if she insisted on standing again.

The four signatories – Peng Ming-mun, Wu Li-pei, Lee Yuan-tseh and Kao Chun-ming – are veteran pro-independence activists whose faction within the DPP has long shown its displeasure with Tsai for her relatively soft position on independence.

The incendiary letter was published a day after Chinese President Xi Jinping said it was time for Beijing and Taipei to start talks on unification and the adoption of “one country, two systems” in Taiwan, a stance which was roundly rejected by Tsai.

In what analysts said was clear evidence the two leaders were now playing a zero-sum game, Tsai said Taiwan would not accept the “one country, two systems” model and that it was opposed by majority opinion. She also said no individuals or parties could represent the government in talks with the mainland.

The open letter called the current situation extremely severe and difficult for the DPP, due to its crushing defeat in the November local elections, in which the party lost 2 million votes and seven of the 13 cities and counties it used to control, including Kaohsiung, its stronghold in southern Taiwan.

The Kuomintang (KMT) victory in the local elections was equivalent to Taiwan opening up to the mainland, as the heads of local governments from north to south were now from the mainland-friendly KMT, the letter said.

It said if Tsai insisted in running, not only she would face a bitter defeat, but the party would split because other, more qualified, party members – who no longer have trust and confidence in Tsai – would challenge her in next year’s elections.

The hard core camp would have no option but to support those people, the letter continued.

China’s reunification of Taiwan: are Taipei and Beijing locked in a zero-sum game?



“Our appeals are very clear: First, President Tsai must give up her ambition to seek a second term and announce that she would only serve one term.

“Second, the president must hand over her executive power and retreat to the backstage to allow the premier to assume his duty of forming his own cabinet in line with the constitution.”

Presidential spokesman Alex Huang said the most serious thing to do at this time was to safeguard Taiwan’s sovereignty, rather than discussing next year’s elections.

“No one can decide who to run and who shouldn’t run. It’s the democratic mechanism which has the last say,” he said.

In Beijing, Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, lashed out at Tsai for rejecting Xi’s calls for unification.

“What Tsai said is a naked announcement of the separatist’s state-to-state theory, which not only goes against the wishes of the people of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, but also intensifies the confrontation between the two sides and sabotages cross-strait peaceful development,” he said.

Ma said Tsai must self-reflect after the DPP’s crushing defeat instead of continuing to promote a confrontational policy towards the mainland.

“One country, two systems …. is the best solution for cross-strait unification issue,” he said.

Taiwan and the mainland have been divided since Kuomintang, or Chinese Nationalist, ­forces were defeated by the Communists and retreated to the island in 1949, at the end of China’s civil war.

In the 70 years since, relations across the strait have been tense, with the threat of military ­confrontation ever present.</s>Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen vowed on Saturday to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy and way of life, amid renewed tension with giant neighbour China, which threatens to bring Taiwan under its rule by force.

Tsai’s comments came days after Chinese President Xi Jinping said nobody could change the fact that Taiwan was part of China, and that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should seek “reunification”. In response, Tsai has said the island would not accept a “one country, two systems” political arrangement with China, while stressing all cross-Strait negotiations needed to be carried out on a government-to-government basis.</s>President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan responded vigorously to a speech this week by Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping announcing that China would no longer tolerate Taiwan’s sovereignty, urging Xi to “bravely move towards democracy” and “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China.”

In his speech on Tuesday, Xi called Taiwanese independence a “dead end” and warned that, in 2019, China would no longer accept the status quo.

“We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures,” he warned.

Tsai, speaking on Wednesday, responded by lamenting that China has consistently rejected the democratic values that, according to her, define the national identity of Taiwan and condemned China for spending much of 2018 attempting to bribe Taiwan’s allies away from recognizing the nation’s sovereignty.

“Democratic values are the values and way of life that Taiwanese cherish, and we call upon China to bravely move towards democracy,” Tsai declared. “This is the only way they can truly understand Taiwanese people’s ideas and commitments.”

Tsai called on China to “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and not deny the democratic system that the people of Taiwan have established together.” She insisted that Taiwan “absolutely will not accept ‘one country, two systems,'” the policy in place for Hong Kong, which nominally allows Hong Kong to remain democratic but technically deprives it of sovereignty. Xi’s regime has increasingly crippled Hong Kong’s ability to govern itself under “one country, two systems” by banning political candidates anathema to the Communist Party’s interest from running for office.

Tsai also implied that China’s behavior towards Taiwan, particularly since she took over as president in 2016, had brought it international embarrassment. “I want to remind the Beijing authorities that a superpower must act with the demeanor and take the responsibility of a superpower,” she noted, “and international society is watching China to see if it can make changes and become a trustworthy partner.”

“Pressuring international corporations to change their designation for Taiwan won’t bring about a spiritual union, nor will buying off Taiwan’s diplomatic allies or circling Taiwan with military aircraft and naval vessels,” Tsai concluded.

The latter remark referred to China’s policy of using “sharp power,” or economic intimidation, to force international corporations to accept its worldview. Throughout 2018, companies such as Ikea, American Airlines, and Marriott faced the brunt of “sharp power,” forced to choose between identifying Taiwan as a country in their legal papers, websites, and drop-down menus or losing access to the massive Chinese market. Three major airlines in the United States ultimately changed their fight booking options to stop identifying Taiwan as a country even as the U.S. government dismissed China’s bullying as “nonsense” and urged them not to do so. Marriott, in one notable instance, fired a social media manager for “liking” a Twitter post by a group called “Friends of Tibet,” which opposes communism.

China has also used its “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI, or One Belt, One Road) to offer high-interest loans to nations that maintain friendly relations with Taiwan, notably in Latin America. Nations like the Dominican Republic and El Salvador announced last year they no longer recognized Taiwan’s sovereignty after lucrative business meetings with Beijing’s representatives. An enraged Tsai warned the world in August that China’s “increasingly out of control” behavior was “not only a threat to cross-strait peace … [but] caused high levels of global instability.”

Tsai’s speech on Wednesday followed new year’s remarks from Xi Jinping warning that 2019 would be the last year China would tolerate Taiwan’s existence.

“Reunification is a historical trend and it is the right path. Taiwan independence is an adverse current of history and is a dead end,” Xi announced. “The issue of Taiwan is part of China’s domestic politics. It is a core interest of China, and the … feelings of the Chinese people, and foreign interference is intolerable.”

He added that Chinese officials “make no promise to abandon the use of force” to end Taiwan’s independence.

Asked about the aggressive remarks on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang claimed to reporters that Xi was not speaking for China, but for the world.

Xi “made it very clear in his speech that adherence to the one-China principle is a consensus shared by the international community,” Lu said. “The international community generally understands and supports the just cause of the Chinese people in opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and realizing national reunification.”

“We make no promise to renounce the use of force. This does not target compatriots in Taiwan, but the interference of external forces and the very small number of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and their activities,” he added, likely alluding to the United States as an “external force” against Beijing’s interests on the matter.

The threat of use of force is not new for Xi’s regime. In October, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said during remarks to the press that “if someone tries to separate out Taiwan, China’s military will take the necessary actions at any cost.” Two months later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly deployed a significantly larger fleet of naval vessels to the Taiwan Strait, presumably to surround Taiwan’s military and intimidate U.S. ships in the area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry argued this was necessary because a U.S. Navy ship had traveled through the sovereign Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea, which China has illegally claimed for itself.</s>TAIPEI, TAIWAN—President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Saturday called for domestic and international support of the island’s de facto independence, days after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, warned that unification with China was inevitable. “It is impossible for me or, in my view, any responsible politician in Taiwan to accept President Xi Jinping’s recent remarks without betraying the trust and the will of the people of Taiwan,” Tsai said in a briefing for foreign reporters.

“We hope the international community will pay attention and combine efforts to speak out on our behalf,” she said. Xi’s speech, his first major address on Taiwan, has given Tsai a chance to position herself as the young democracy’s defender, both to the outside world and to voters who will decide next year whether she stays in office. Her party was battered in local elections in November, but since Xi’s address, there has been a groundswell of support for her on social media and even in publications that tend to oppose her. Tensions between Taiwan and Beijing, which claims the self-governing island as part of Chinese territory, have emerged as one of the region’s flash points. Xi, the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao, reiterated in his speech that Beijing would use force if necessary to prevent Taiwan from seeking formal independence.

Xi has been ramping up pressure on Tsai’s administration over her refusal to accept the so-called 1992 consensus — a vague notion, accepted by Tsai’s predecessor, that posits that Taiwan and China are part of the same country, with each side allowed its own interpretation of what that China is. President Tsai says Taiwanese want to maintain self-rule

In his speech, Xi urged Taiwan to avoid a “dead end” and accept his offer of the “one country, two systems” framework under which Hong Kong has operated since Britain returned it to Chinese rule in 1997. But many people in Hong Kong and elsewhere — not least in Taiwan — believe that Hong Kong’s promised freedoms have been eroding under Xi’s rule. “I myself expect all of Taiwan’s political parties to clearly state, ‘We reject “one country, two systems,’” Tsai said Saturday.</s>TAIPEI, TAIWAN—President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan on Saturday called for domestic and international support of the island's de facto independence, days after China's leader, Xi Jinping, warned that unification with China was inevitable.

"It is impossible for me or, in my view, any responsible politician in Taiwan to accept President Xi Jinping's recent remarks without betraying the trust and the will of the people of Taiwan," Tsai said in a briefing for foreign reporters.

"We hope the international community will pay attention and combine efforts to speak out on our behalf," she said.

Xi's speech, his first major address on Taiwan, has given Tsai a chance to position herself as the young democracy's defender, both to the outside world and to voters who will decide next year whether she stays in office. Her party was battered in local elections in November, but since Xi's address, there has been a groundswell of support for her on social media and even in publications that tend to oppose her.
Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping orders the country's armed forces to be ready for battle following President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) Tsai Ing-wen's call for international support to defend the self-ruled island’s democracy after rejecting of the one country, two systems principle.