When General Secretary Xi Jinping made a solemn promise that the reunification of the two sides across the Taiwan Straits must be realized, there was a long burst of applause at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, if not the longest round of applause.
The applause came from some 2,300 delegates attending the opening of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, representing the Party’s more than 96 million members.
One delegate from Taiwan, Jiang Erxiong, who is president of the Fujian Federation of Taiwan Compatriots, was listening to the report at the scene. “My biggest feeling is that the applause represents the voice of the people,” she said.
I couldn’t agree more with Jiang. As a reporter covering the Taiwan question, I was lucky to be there and witness the long applause. It conveyed the great expectation, will and confidence of the Party in achieving the goal.
As written in the report delivered by Xi on Sunday, resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is, for the Party, a historic mission and an unshakable commitment.
It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation, including our Taiwan compatriots. Many young people from Taiwan were also closely following the report and felt inspired.
Lin Yen-chen, who is from Taiwan and is now a doctoral student at the School of International Studies at Peking University, watched the opening meeting live on TV with students who are Party members at the university.
“Just like the delegates sitting in the hall, many young people from Taiwan also feel greatly encouraged. We look forward to seeing the reunification of the two sides as early as possible and a beautiful future of the prosperity and development across the Straits after reunification,” he said.
Such strong public will for resolving the Taiwan question should not be overlooked by anyone or any force that dares to use the island of Taiwan to contain the development of the Chinese mainland, especially some external forces that have been colluding with “Taiwan independence” forces.
The strength of such a common will can be reflected in the response of the Chinese government and Chinese people after a trip by United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August.
Hundreds of millions of Chinese watched, discussed and were outraged by the provocative trip that was also followed by unprecedented countermeasures by the Chinese government, including conducting live-fire drills around the island and canceling some cooperation with the US.
Blood runs thicker than water, and fellow Chinese on both sides are one family bound by blood. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese.
“We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort,” Xi said in the report, “but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary.”
This is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking “Taiwan independence” and their separatist activities, and is by no means targeting our Taiwan compatriots.
The mainland cares for the Taiwan people and has been rolling out policies to give those who come to work and study on the mainland the same treatment as local people. Taiwan compatriots are expected to join hands with those on the mainland to strive for a common bright future.
Looking back over the past decade, the Party has put forward an overall policy framework for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era and maintained the initiative and the ability to steer cross-Straits relations.
The wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Complete reunification of the country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized.
Zhang Yi, China Daily
