Taiwan's Future 'Must Be Decided by Its People,' President Tsai Asserts After Xi Calls Reunification 'Inevitable'
• Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen says the island's future and relations with China must be decided by its people, not Beijing. This comes after China's leader Xi Jinping said reunification was inevitable.
• Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out using force to achieve reunification. It has increased pressure on Taiwan since Tsai was elected in 2016.
• In a New Year's address, Xi struck a strong tone on reunification. Tsai stressed Taiwan is a democracy where the people decide their future.
• Tsai called on Beijing to respect the outcome of Taiwan's upcoming election on January 13th. Her party, the DPP, has dominated politics, while the China-friendly KMT is in opposition.
• Analysts say Beijing is running a campaign to ensure the DPP and Vice President Lai Ching-te are not re-elected, so that Taiwan makes what China sees as the “right choice.”