China withdraws promise not to send troops to Taiwan after unification

By: 2 years ago

Troops in military vehicles take part in the military parade marking the 70th founding anniversary of People鈥檚 Republic of China, on its National Day in Beijing, China October 1, 2019. REUTERS FILE PHOTO

BEIJING 鈥� China has withdrawn a promise not to send troops or administrators to Taiwan after taking it back, an official document showed on Wednesday, signaling a decision by President Xi Jinping to grant less autonomy than previously suggested.

China鈥檚 white paper on its position on self-ruled Taiwan follows days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises near the island, which Beijing claims as its territory, in protest against U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi鈥檚 visit last week.

Taiwan rejects China鈥檚 sovereignty claims, says the island鈥檚 people should decide its future and vows to defend its democracy.

China had said in two previous white papers on Taiwan, in 1993 and 2000, that it 鈥渨ill not send troops or administrative personnel to be based in Taiwan鈥� after achieving unification.

That line, meant to assure Taiwan it would enjoy autonomy after becoming a special administrative region of China, did not appear in the latest white paper.

China鈥檚 ruling Communist Party had proposed that Taiwan could return to its rule under a 鈥渙ne country, two systems鈥� model, similar to the formula under which the former British colony of Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

That would offer some autonomy to democratically ruled Taiwan to partially preserve its social and political systems.

A line in the 2000 white paper that said 鈥渁nything can be negotiated鈥� as long as Taiwan accepts that there is only one China and does not seek independence, is also missing from the latest white paper.

The updated white paper is called 鈥淭he Taiwan Question and China鈥檚 Reunification in the New Era鈥�. The 鈥渘ew era鈥� is a term commonly associated with Xi鈥檚 rule.

Taiwan has lived under the threat of Chinese invasion since 1949, when the defeated Republic of China government fled to the island after Mao Zedong鈥檚 Communist Party won a civil war.

黑料社