Taiwan’s Premier rejects Xi Jinping’s call for 'return to China' amid rising regional tensions

Amid mounting tensions, Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai said on Tuesday that a “return” to China is not an option for the island’s 23 million people, responding to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s renewed sovereignty claims during a call with United States President Donald Trump. Xi told Trump on Monday that Taiwan’s “return to China” at the end of World War Two formed a key part of Beijing’s vision for the world order, a stance firmly rejected by Taiwan’s democratically elected government.

Cho, speaking to reporters outside parliament, stressed that the Republic of China, Taiwan’s formal name, is a “fully sovereign and independent country”. He added that for the island’s 23 million citizens, “‘return’ is not an option – this is very clear.” In Taiwan’s political system, the premier oversees day-to-day government operations, while defence and foreign affairs are generally handled by the president.

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War legacy disputes and rising regional tension

China has promoted a “one country, two systems” framework for Taiwan, which has no backing from any mainstream Taiwanese political party and has been rejected by President Lai Ching-te. Relations between Beijing and Tokyo have also deteriorated after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said earlier this month that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could trigger a Japanese military response. China maintains that Taiwan is its most important and sensitive diplomatic issue.

Following his conversation with Xi, Trump highlighted progress in trade talks and described relations with China as “extremely strong” in a post on Truth Social, without mentioning Taiwan. Taipei has repeatedly criticised Beijing for attempting to distort the legacy of World War Two, which ended 80 years ago, noting that Taiwan was placed under the Republic of China government at the end of the conflict. The People’s Republic of China was not established until 1949, after Mao Zedong’s communist forces defeated the Republic of China forces, which then retreated to Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hsiao Kuang-wei said Beijing continues to distort facts surrounding World War Two, citing United States comments in September on how China has used documents from that era to pressure and isolate Taiwan. He added that “China has repeatedly attempted to intimidate and pressure neighbouring countries such as Taiwan and Japan in the region with its authoritarian expansionist nature”.

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In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the People’s Republic of China became the legal successor to the Republic of China in 1949 and that “China’s sovereignty and inherent territorial integrity remained unchanged”. Beijing has not renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control and has increased military pressure around the island.

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s defence ministry said it detected a single balloon from China crossing the sensitive Taiwan Strait the previous day. Taiwan has complained that such winter balloon flights form part of a pattern of harassment by Beijing. China’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment, though Beijing has previously dismissed Taiwan’s concerns, saying the balloons serve meteorological purposes and should not be exaggerated for political reasons.