Beijing rejects 'pre-unification governance' claim, vows Taiwan unification inevitable
China's Taiwan Affairs Office dismissed Taiwan claims that Beijing is pursuing a 'pre-unification governance' strategy, reiterating that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and unification is inevitable. It also criticised Taiwan's military budget for US observers and warned artists against suppo
China's Taiwan Affairs Office on 28 October rejected a claim by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council that Beijing had strengthened a strategy of 'pre-unification governance' toward the island. Spokesperson Chen Binhua told a regular press conference in Beijing that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan has been an inalienable part of Chinese territory since ancient times. He said the historical and legal fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China cannot be changed, and that the historical trend of national reunification is unstoppable.
Chen also responded to a question about the Taiwan defence department allocating more than 80 million New Taiwan dollars in its budget to invite US personnel to observe the 'Han Kuang' military exercise. He said the Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affair and tolerates no foreign interference. He accused the Taiwan authorities of wasting the money of Taiwanese people in a mistaken attempt to 'seek independence by relying on force and foreign support', calling this a miscalculation that leads nowhere.
Separately, Chen addressed controversy surrounding Taiwanese artist Cai Kangyong, who attended a campaign event for Shen Boyang, the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for Taipei mayor in the upcoming local elections. Cai later posted on social media that he had never supported 'Taiwan independence'. Chen said that while Beijing always respects and guarantees the legitimate rights of Taiwanese compatriots to free speech, there can be no ambiguity on matters of national sovereignty, security and development interests. He expressed hope that artists in Taiwan would take pride in being upright Chinese and do more to strengthen kinship and cross-strait exchanges.