Xi's Five Points

Xi's Five Points (Chinese :习五条; pinyin :Xí Wǔtiáo) is a concept proposed by general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping regarding cross-strait relations. Proposed by Xi on 2 January 2019 in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," it calls for Chinese unification under the one country, two systems formula.

History

On 2 January 2019, in a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," Xi Jinping called for "peaceful reunification with Taiwan" in accordance with the "one China principle" and the 1992 Consensus. ^{[1] : 240} In Xi's view, the Taiwan issue emerged from China's weakness dating back to the Opium Wars and after World War II, the "two sides of the Taiwan straits fell into a special state of protracted political confrontation due to the civil war in China and the interferences of foreign forces." ^{[1] : 240–241} Xi Jinping called on Taiwan to reject formal independence from China, saying: "We make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means." Those options, he said, could be used against "external interference." Xi also said that they "are willing to create broad space for peaceful reunification, but will leave no room for any form of separatist activities." ^{[2] [3]}

Content

Xi's five point are as follows: ^[4]

• First, work together to promote national rejuvenation and achieve the goal of peaceful reunification.
• Second, explore the "two systems" Taiwan plan and enrich the practice of peaceful reunification.
• Third, uphold the one-China principle and safeguard the prospect of peaceful reunification.
• Fourth, deepen cross-strait integration and development and lay a solid foundation for peaceful reunification
• Fifth, achieve spiritual harmony among compatriots and enhance recognition of peaceful reunification.

Reactions

In response to the speech, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan would not accept a one country, two systems arrangement with the mainland, while stressing the need for all cross-strait negotiations to be on a government-to-government basis. ^[5] She emphasized that she has never accepted the 1992 Consensus. ^[6] Tsai made a shift from not publicly accepting the 1992 Consensus to directly rejecting it, stating that there's no need to talk about the 1992 Consensus anymore, because this term has already been defined by Beijing as "one country, two systems." ^[7]

References

1. Chen, Dean P. (2024). "Xi Jinping and the Derailment of the KMT-CCP "1992 Consensus"". In Fang, Qiang; Li, Xiaobing (eds.). China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment. Leiden University Press. ISBN   9789087284411.
2. Kuo, Lily (2 January 2019). "'All necessary means': Xi Jinping reserves right to use force against Taiwan". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 22 August 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
3. Griffiths, James (2 January 2019). "Xi warns Taiwan independence is 'a dead end'". CNN . Archived from the original on 3 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
4. Xi, Jinping (2 January 2019). "为实现民族伟大复兴推进祖国和平统一而共同奋斗". State Council of China. Retrieved 2025-03-13.
5. Lee, Yimou (2 January 2019). "Taiwan president defiant after China calls for reunification". Reuters. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
6. "President Tsai issues statement on China's President Xi's "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan"". english.president.gov.tw. 2 January 2019.
7. "Taiwan's President, Defying Xi Jinping, Calls Unification Offer "Impossible"". The New York Times. 5 January 2019. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2023.