It is \u201cabsolutely impossible\u201d for Communist China to become Taiwan\u2019s motherland because the island\u2019s government is older, Taiwan\u2019s president has said in a carefully timed speech that underscores the intense historical rivalry between the two. <\/p>\n
Lai Ching-te, who took office in May, has long faced Beijing\u2019s wrath for championing Taiwan\u2019s sovereignty and rejecting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)\u2019s claims over the island. <\/p>\n
Despite having never controlled Taiwan, China\u2019s ruling Communist Party has vowed to \u201creunify\u201d with the self-governing democracy, by force if necessary. But many people on the island view themselves as distinctly Taiwanese and have no desire to be part of the People\u2019s Republic of China. <\/p>\n
On Saturday, in a move likely to further infuriate Beijing, Lai dug into history to make his point, stressing that Taiwan is already a \u201csovereign and independent country\u201d called the Republic of China (ROC), whose government ruled mainland China for decades before relocating to Taiwan when the CCP came to power. <\/p>\n
The ROC was founded in 1912 after a Nationalist revolution overthrew China\u2019s last imperial dynasty, the Qing. At the time, Taiwan was a Japanese colony, ceded by the Qing dynasty after it lost a war to Imperial Japan nearly two decades earlier. <\/p>\n
The ROC later took control of Taiwan in 1945, following Japan\u2019s defeat in World War II. Four years later, its Nationalist government then fled to the island after losing a civil war against Mao Zedong\u2019s Communist forces, moving the seat of the ROC from the mainland to Taipei. <\/p>\n
In Beijing, the CCP took power and founded the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949. Since then, the two sides have been ruled by separate governments. <\/p>\n
Successive Chinese leaders have vowed to one day take control of Taiwan. But Xi Jinping, China\u2019s most assertive leader in decades, has ramped up rhetoric and aggression against the democratic island \u2013 fueling tension across the strait and raising concerns for a military confrontation. <\/p>\n
Speaking at a concert ahead of Taiwan\u2019s national day on October 10, Lai noted the two governments\u2019 different political roots, delivering a lesson in comparative history. <\/p>\n
\u201cRecently, our neighbor, the People\u2019s Republic of China, just celebrated its 75th birthday on October 1. In a few days, the Republic of China will celebrate its 113th birthday,\u201d Lai said, receiving to a round of applause from crowds in a stadium in Taipei. <\/p>\n
\u201cTherefore, in terms of age, it is absolutely impossible for the People\u2019s Republic of China to become the motherland of the people of the Republic of China. On the contrary, the Republic of China may actually be the motherland of citizens of the People\u2019s Republic of China who are over 75 years old.\u201d <\/p>\n
Monday is the last day of China\u2019s week-long national day holiday and the Chinese government has not responded to Lai\u2019s remarks. <\/p>\n
But his comments have already drawn criticism from politicians in Taiwan\u2019s largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which has long accused Lai\u2019s ruling Democratic Progressive Party of needlessly stoking tensions with China. <\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Lai has deliberately mentioned \u2018People\u2019s Republic of China\u2019 and his \u2018motherland theory\u2019 to incite political confrontation on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,\u201d Ling Tao, a city councillor from the KMT, wrote in a post on Facebook. <\/p>\n
The KMT are the political successors of the Nationalists who fled to Taiwan, ruled the island under martial law for decades and long harbored ambitions to one day restore the Republic of China on the mainland. They later joined Taiwan\u2019s evolution into a democracy and have made significant ideological transformations, including favoring closer ties with Communist China. <\/p>\n
Leaders in both Taipei and Beijing have long used their national day addresses to send a message across the Taiwan Strait. <\/p>\n
Last week, on the eve of the PRC\u2019s 75th birthday, Xi reiterated his pledge to achieve \u201creunification\u201d with Taiwan. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an irreversible trend, a cause of righteousness and the common aspiration of the people. No one can stop the march of history,\u201d Xi told a state banquet at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, according to state-run news agency Xinhua. <\/p>\n
\u201cTaiwan is China\u2019s sacred territory. Blood is thicker than water, and people on both sides of the strait are connected by blood,\u201d he said, vowing to resolutely oppose \u201cTaiwan independence\u201d separatist activities. <\/p>\n
Beijing has labeled Lai a \u201cdangerous separatist,\u201d and tensions have ratcheted up over the last five months since Lai\u2019s inauguration in May, during which he called on China to cease its intimidation of Taiwan. <\/p>\n
Lai is expected to give his first national day address as Taiwan\u2019s president on Thursday. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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