Centenary of the Chinese Communist Party: Taiwan "determined" to defend itself
Thousands of Chinese people celebrate the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party in Tienamen Square in Beijing on June 30, 2021. AP - Ng Han Guan
Text by: Adrien Simorre Follow
3 min
During his speech in Tiananmen Square this Thursday, July 1, Chinese President Xi Jinping unsurprisingly reserved a passage to Taiwan, this democratic archipelago of 24 million inhabitants considered by China as one of its provinces.
The Taiwanese government responded by recalling its "
determination to defend the sovereignty and democracy
" of the archipelago.
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From our correspondent in Taipei,
Not a single headline in
the Taiwanese press this morning
.
It is to say the little interest of the Taiwanese for the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party.
Even the opposition Kuomintang party, known for its conciliatory stance towards China, refused to convey its congratulations to Beijing.
It must be said that relations between the two shores have significantly refreshed since 2016 and the election of a sovereignist Taiwanese president.
After the turn of the screw in Hong Kong and faced with a China which multiplies the military maneuvers, the Taiwanese are still more numerous to reject the Chinese annexation project:
up to 90% according to the latest polls
.
The New Power Party, born out of
the “sunflower” student movement
in 2014 - then directed against Beijing's influence in Taiwan - even organized an online event on Wednesday called "
Shame on the Chinese Communist Party
".
Symbol of the growing solidarity between Taiwan and Hong Kong, three democratic activists from the former British colony were invited.
The Taiwanese media, for their part, preferred to devote their News of the day to the resumption of negotiations between Taipei and Washington for the signing of a trade agreement.
A file perceived as an affront by Beijing, and whose announcement, the eve of the centenary of the Chinese Communist Party, could not have come at a worse time for China.
During his speech in Tiananmen Square on Thursday, leader Xi Jinping nevertheless hammered home his desire to “
reunify the motherland
”, threatening to “
crush any attempt at
Taiwanese
independence
”.
"
Our determination to defend Taiwan's sovereignty and democracy remains unchanged,
"
the Taiwanese government
replied
in a statement
.
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