Amid growing calls for independence in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the president has promised to protect the country's territorial integrity. In a rare move, Beijing banned two pro-independence Hong Kong lawmakers.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/H.H. Young
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Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday vowed to stop separatist movements from violating the country's territorial integrity after Beijing took steps earlier this week to block two pro-independence lawmakers from taking office in Hong Kong.
"We will never allow any person, any group, any political party, at any time, in any way, to split from any part of China's territory," Xi said at Beijing's Great Hall of the People during a commemoration of 150 years since the birth of Sun Yat-sen, China's first president.
"To uphold our national sovereignty and territorial integrity, to never let our country split again and to never let history repeat itself - these are our solemn promises to our people and to our history," he added.
Xi called on Taiwanese officials to endorse the "1992 consensus," a pact that recognizes both mainland China and Taiwan as part of "one China," but providing both sides to interpret the ruler of this single entity.
'We are willing'
Since President Tsai Ing-wen assumed office in May, Beijing has cut official communication with Taiwan, who leads the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
"Any Taiwanese political party, organization or individual - regardless of what they have advocated for in the past - as long as they recognize the '1992 consensus,' as long as they recognize the mainland and Taiwan are one China, we are willing to associate with them," Xi told officials and military officers at the commemoration.
The Chinese civil war effectively split the country into two de facto states, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China in Taiwan.
However, officials of the Beijing-leaning opposition Chinese Nationalist Party in 1992 agreed to recognize the "one China" principle, which led to a thaw in relations.
Meanwhile, China's parliament earlier this week passed a ruling that barred two legally elected pro-independence lawmakers from assuming office in Hong Kong, a rare intervention into the semi-autonomous city.
China & Taiwan's 70 year cold war
In the first summit between the two countries in six decades, China and Taiwan's top leaders held talks in Singapore on Saturday. Taiwan broke away from China following the 1945-9 Chinese civil war.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/R. Beck
Animosity has lasted nearly seven decades
China and Taiwan split in 1949 following the rise of Communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. China's nationalist President Chiang Kai-shek fled to Taiwan - which was then a backwater island.
In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek established a "provisional" Republic of China capital in Taipei. Post-war economic conditions caused severe inflation which left the island's tiny population impoverished for many years.
Image: Getty Images/T. Lions
Taiwan prospers without the motherland
Over the past six decades, Taiwan has experienced rapid industrialization and economic growth, becoming known as one of the "Four Asian Tigers."
Image: AP
Rise of China
In the past 30 years, China has brushed off Communism in all but name, rising to become the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP. China insists Taiwan is part of its territory. But Taiwan maintains it is a sovereign state and a democracy.
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US arms sales
In 2011, Taiwan upgraded its F-16 fighter fleet at a cost of $.5.3 billion (4.9 billion euros). China denounced the sale of arms from the US, warning at the time that it would damage Sino-American military and security ties.
Image: AP
South China Sea diputes
Taiwan and China are currently locked in territorial disputes over the South China Sea. China's claims over most of area, along with its massive land reclamation projects in the Spratly islands, have annoyed much of the rest of Asia.
Image: Reuters/U.S. Navy
'We are one family'
Chinese President Xi Jinping hailed the relations between Beijing and Taipei, saying that "we are brothers...still connected by our flesh even if our bones are broken." In response, Ma called on China to respect Taiwan's democracy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/R. Rahman
Protesters not convinced by China's overtures
In the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, about 500 people took to the streets to protest against the meeting between the two leaders. Many are skeptical as to whether ties with China will allow the territory's democracy to be maintained.
