Chinese President Xi Jinping says peaceful reunification with Taiwan is in country’s best interests

In speech marking 110th anniversary of the revolution that established the first Chinese republic, Xi urges Taiwan to ‘stand on the right side of history’

Taipei condemns speech as a ‘distortion of history’ and calls on Beijing to stop threatening the island

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Chinese President Xi Jinping was speaks at a meeting commemorating the anniversary of 1911 revolution. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:05pm, 9 Oct 2021Updated: 12:07am, 10 Oct 2021

President Xi Jinping said on Saturday that Beijing hoped Taiwan could be reunited peacefully with the Chinese mainland, warning that those who opposed this would be “judged by history”.

“To achieve the reunification of the motherland by peaceful means is most in line with the overall interests of the Chinese nation, including our compatriots in Taiwan,” Xi told a meeting in Beijing commemorating the 110th anniversary of the 1911 revolution that established the first Chinese republic.

The Taiwanese government said the speech was a distortion of history and called on Beijing to stop threatening the island.

The uprising, also known as the Xinhai revolution, began in Wuchang, now part of modern-day Wuhan, and led to the downfall of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911).

In his most high-profile speech on Taiwan since July 1, the Communist Party’s centenary, Xi said: “We [should] adhere to the basic policy of peaceful reunification and one country, two systems; adhere to the one-China principle and the 1992 consensus; and promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations.”