After securing third term in power, Chinese President Xi Jinping's focus remains on Taiwan

Beijing: Taiwan is one of the important takeaways from the 20th Party Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), where Chinese President Xi Jinping secured a third term.

In his opening remarks to the party Congress, Jinping announced that China will peacefully reunify Taiwan and will not leave the option of using force, Geo-politik reported. Chinese President's statement indicates that the unification of Taiwan with China is the key agenda for him.

After Xi Jinping's statement, a senior official in China's Taiwan Affairs office said that they are "closer than ever in history" and more confident and capable than ever of realising rejuvenation."
Ma Xiaoguang, the spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office, said that China is more "capable and confident" to realise the complete reunification of the nation. His statement indicates that China is likely preparing for an imminent invasion of Taiwan.

"We're also closer than ever in history and more confident and capable of realising the complete reunification of the motherland," Geo-politik quoted Ma Xiaoguang as saying.

Meanwhile, Shen Ming-Shih, Director of National Security Research at the Institute of National Defense and Security Research, a Taiwanese think tank, said that the personnel changes indicate that Xi Jinping is "losing patience" over Taiwan and is working on a "tough Taiwan strategy that does not care about the deterioration of cross-strait relations."

As per the Geo-politik report, 15 of the 24 members of the Communist Party's Politburo have some links to the island, with some managing cross-straits business ties or are part of the Army that might likely one day be given the task to bring back the island into the fold if it ever formally declares independence.

Cai Qi, one of the members of the Politburo Standing Committee visited Taiwan in 2012 when he used to work as a local official in Zhejiang. At the time, Cai Qi had called on China to engage and shift political allegiances in the independence-leaning south of the island.

Meanwhile, He Weidong, a leader of the Eastern Theatre Command has become a member of the Politburo Standing Committee. His rise to secure a spot in the Politburo shows Xi Jinping's commitment towards Taiwan.

Chen Wenqing, China's "spymaster" has become a Politburo member. As per the report, the MPS head has been elevated to Politburo for the first time since the Ministry of State Security was created in the 1980s. His promotion has indicated that Chinese President Xi Jinping could make use of the system for controlling social services and playing a role in the surveillance of the political elite and international ties.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping led a field trip of his newly appointed top lieutenants to the revolutionary base of Yan'an. In his address to the gathered members, Jinping said that they must work on the Yan'an spirit which he stressed is primarily one of "pioneering self-reliance and arduous struggle," Geo-politik reported.

Under Xi Jinping, China has taken a more hard-line approach to Taiwan, claiming the island is a breakaway province that will eventually be "reunified" with the country.

His statement has hinted that China is likely preparing for an imminent invasion of Taiwan. As Xi Jinping aims to bring China to the centre of the world stage, he has brought national security to the highest level and called for the nation to become "united in struggle" to tackle hardships.

The strong position has put it at odds with the United States and its Western allies, who maintain strategic ambiguity, but escalated tensions in August following the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. (ANI)