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