Reuters
Date: February 26, 2019
By: Ben Blanchard and Gao Liangping
Editing by Paul Tait and Darren Schuettler
BEIJING (Reuters) – China can talk to Taiwan as long as it helps promote peaceful development and
FILE PHOTO – Wu Den-yih, newly elected chairman of Taiwan’s opposition Nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT), arrives at a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
“reunification”, Beijing said on Wednesday, after the island’s main opposition party said it could sign a peace treaty if it wins a presidential election next year.
(KMT), arrives at a news conference in Taipei, Taiwan May 20, 2017. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
China claims self-ruled and proudly democratic Taiwan as its own and has vowed to bring the island, which it regards as sacred territory, under Chinese control, by force if necessary.
While China has not broached the idea of a peace deal in years, the chairman of the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, Wu Den-yih, said earlier this month the party could sign a peace deal with China if it won the hotly contested election.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said the island will not accept any deal that destroys its sovereignty and democracy. [FULL STORY]
