BEIJING--The tide of history cannot be stopped, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, while urging peaceful "reunification" with Taiwan and making no mention of using force, though he still drew a firm rebuff from Taipei.
China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite Taipei's strong rejection of that claim, and has repeatedly offered a "one country, two systems" model of autonomy not supported by any major Taiwanese political party.
Resolving the Taiwan question is an "unwavering historical mission" of China's Communist Party, Xi said in a speech in Beijing's Great Hall of the People. "The tide of history cannot be stopped," Xi added. "The complete reunification of the motherland must be realised, and it will certainly be realised."
Taiwan's government dismissed the remarks. Its Mainland Affairs Council said neither the government nor Taiwan's people could accept "one country, two systems," which would ultimately mean submitting to the Communist Party's authoritarian rule.
"As for the wording on Taiwan unification, it isn't much different from the past," council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh told reporters.
Xi's comments came in a speech on the 160th birthday of revolutionary hero Sun Yat-sen who helped lead a 1911 revolt that ended centuries of rule by emperors and empresses and ushered in the Republic of China. Xi said China adheres to "peaceful reunification and the policy of 'one country, two systems'" and is willing to talk to Taiwan while upholding the "one-China principle", or Beijing's position that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one country.
All Chinese, including those in Taiwan, should join hands to jointly oppose Taiwan independence "separatist" forces and strive for peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, Xi added.
Despite Xi not mentioning the use of force, which China has never renounced for Taiwan, its military operates around the island on a daily basis, and is extending its reach further into the Pacific. Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected 29 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets and drones, carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" around Taiwan in conjunction with Chinese warships, starting on Thursday.
