China to support 'reunification forces' in Taiwan, go after 'separatists'

China's Support for Taiwan Reunification

BEIJING, Feb 10 (Reuters) - China will offer firm support for "patriotic pro-reunification forces" in Taiwan and strike hard against "separatists", the top Chinese official in charge of policy towards the democratically-governed island said in comments published on Tuesday.

China, which views Taiwan as its own territory despite the objections of the government in Taipei, has ramped up its military and political pressure against the island as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims.

Addressing this year's annual "Taiwan Work Conference", the ruling communist party's fourth-ranked leader Wang Huning said officials must advance the "great cause of national reunification", the official state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Political Context and Military Pressure

It is necessary to "firmly support the patriotic pro-unification forces on the island, resolutely strike against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, oppose interference by external forces, and safeguard peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait", Xinhua paraphrased him as saying.

China has long offered Taiwan a Hong Kong-style "one country, two systems" model of autonomy, though no major Taiwanese political party supports that.

FOREIGN MINISTER ATTENDS MEETING

The meeting was also attended by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, underscoring how China sees Taiwan as an issue it needs to promote its agenda for on the international stage.

Taiwan's Upcoming Elections

Taiwan holds mayoral and county magistrate elections at the end of the year. While they focus mostly on local issues, they are an important sign of party support ahead of the next presidential and parliamentary elections in early 2028.

There was no immediate response to Wang Huning's comments from Taiwan's government, which says only the island's people can decide their future.

Beijing has repeatedly warned other countries including the U.S. against meddling in Taiwan issue, which it said is its internal affair.

In a call with U.S. President Donald Trump last week, China's President Xi Jinping said the Taiwan issue is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations and Washington must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence.

The Trump administration announced in December the largest ever U.S. weapons package for the island worth $11.1 billion.

China's Rejection of Talks with Taiwan

China refuses to speak to Taiwan President Lai Ching-te and has rebuffed his repeated offers of talks, saying he is a "separatist" who must accept that Taiwan is part of China.

Wang was speaking just a week after meeting a delegation from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), who were in Beijing for a meeting of party think-tanks.

Speaking to reporters earlier on Tuesday in Taipei, KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen, who led the delegation to Beijing, said there had been no discussion of political topics when they met Wang, as the trip there was to discuss topics like tourism.

The KMT has been eyeing a meeting between its new chairwoman Cheng Li-wun and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hsiao said if there was any "confirmed news" about that, the party would announce it.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Sonali Paul and Michael Perry)