Advertisement
Mainland China’s top Taiwan official pledges support for pro-unification forces
- Wang Huning, the party’s No 4, tells a conference that officials must ‘advance the process of reunification’ this year
- His comments come a month after the victory of the independence-leaning DPP candidate William Lai in the presidential election
Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
36
Beijing’s top Taiwan affairs official has called for more efforts to support pro-unification forces and deepen cultural ties a month after the presidential election was won by an independence-leaning candidate.
Advertisement
Wang Huning, who heads the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, told the Taiwan Affairs Work Conference that this year its task was to “advance the process of reunification” and “maintain peace and stability” across the Taiwan Strait, state news agency Xinhua reported on Friday.
Wang, the No 4 in the Communist Party’s hierarchy, told officials they would also need to strike hard against Taiwan independence and interference by external forces.
Last month’s Taiwanese presidential election was won by William Lai Ching-te of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party – whom Beijing has repeatedly described as a dangerous separatist – as its next president. He will take office in May when current leader Tsai Ing-wen steps down.
Beijing has criticised Washington’s increased political support and arms sales to Taiwan as “external interference in China’s internal affairs”, and described them as the biggest obstacles to its reunification plan with Taiwan.
Advertisement
Wang also told the conference that Beijing has “overcome difficulties” in pushing ahead its Taiwan agenda and winning international support for the “one China” principle - an apparent reference to Honduras and Nauru cutting their ties with Taipei in the past 12 months.
Advertisement