Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that the complete "reunification" of Taiwan with the mainland must be realised and will certainly be realised, telling an audience in Beijing's Great Hall of the People that "the tide of history cannot be stopped."
Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026
Xi was speaking at events marking the 160th birthday of Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary hero who helped lead the 1911 revolt that ended centuries of imperial rule and ushered in the Republic of China. He called Sun a great national hero, a great patriot and a "great pioneer of China's democratic revolution", and said resolving the Taiwan question is an "unwavering historical mission" of China's Communist Party.
Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026
China adheres to "peaceful reunification and the policy of 'one country, two systems'" and is willing to talk to Taiwan on the basis of upholding the "one-China principle" — Beijing's position that both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one country — Xi said. In the speech, broadcast by the official Xinhua agency, he made no mention of the use of force, though China has never renounced it for Taiwan; a separate account of the address said he stressed Beijing will "never make room" for separatist actions seeking Taiwan's independence.
Source: Xinhua broadcast, via Democrata, Nov 12, 2026
Taipei's position, and why Sun Yat-sen is claimed by both sides
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 that is not supported by any major Taiwanese political party. Taiwan's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday's speech, Reuters reported. Last month, Taiwan called on its people to steer clear of China's events marking this year's Sun Yat-sen anniversary, saying Beijing had a distorted view of his legacy.
Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026
Sun is honoured on both sides of the strait: Beijing calls him a great national hero and patriot and a forerunner of the 1949 communist revolution that forced the defeated Republic of China government to flee to Taiwan, while in Taiwan he is officially considered the "father of the nation" and his portrait hangs in the presidential office.
Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026
The military and diplomatic backdrop
Despite Thursday's peaceful wording, China's military operates around Taiwan on a daily basis and is extending its reach further into the Pacific. On Wednesday, G7 foreign ministers meeting in Paris said China's increasingly assertive activities in the waters east of Taiwan threaten regional stability, freedom of navigation and the safety of international shipping — a statement Taiwan's presidential office welcomed and on which China's foreign ministry did not immediately comment.
Source: Reuters, Nov 12, 2026
What happens next turns on two near-term tests: the APEC summit in Shenzhen in about a week, where Xi is due to meet Trump again and Taiwan is expected to feature in their talks, and Taiwan's local elections a little over two weeks away, which will show how the island's voters respond to Beijing's latest reunification push.