Taiwan admonishes Beijing after China's Xi pledges reunification

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) Taiwan's top government agency handling relations with China on Thursday admonished the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after its leader Xi Jinping (習近平) pledged to reunify with Taiwan, during an event to celebrate the centenary of the CCP.

In a statement, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) acknowledged the CCP's achievement in advancing China's economy, but criticized it for breaching democracy and human rights with its one-party system.

The MAC accused the CCP of tightening its dictatorship in the name of national rejuvenation internally, and attempting to alter the international order with its hegemonic ambitions externally.

"We urge the other side of the strait to learn from history and push for democratic reforms," the MAC said, calling on the CCP to stop expansionist behavior and to act as a responsible party in promoting regional peace.

In terms of cross-strait issues, the MAC said Taiwan's democratic values differs from those of the CCP, stressing that mutual respect and understanding are needed for a better cross-strait relationship.

The MAC urged Beijing to stop military coercion and political oppression against Taiwan, stressing Taiwan's resolve to defend its sovereignty.

The statement was issued in response to remarks by Chinese President and CCP General Secretary Xi, during celebrations to to commemorate the centenary of the CCP in Beijing that "resolving the Taiwan issue and realizing China's peaceful reunification is a historic mission and an unshakable commitment of the CCP."

Beijing sees Taiwan as a breakaway province after the Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) government relocated to the island in 1949 after losing the Chinese civil war.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Network for Tibet and Taiwan (HRNTT), a coalition of civil groups supporting human rights in Tibet, said in a statement that as the CCP marks its centenary, it should not be forgotten that the Tibetan people have been fighting CCP oppression for the past seven decades.

The HRNTT said Tibet was once a sovereign state with a unique religious, culture and political heritage, but that situation changed after Chinese forces "invaded" Tibet in 1949.

The Tibetan people lost their freedom in 1951 after the 14th Dalai Lama was forced to sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with the Chinese government, the HRNTT added.

It also lamented that the CCP has hung a huge tarpaulin decorated with messages celebrating the CCP's centenary outside the Potala Palace since June 29 and forbidden the Tibetan people from taking ritual walks around the place.

"Such actions have blasphemed the religious center of the Tibetan people. The CCP has made us sad and angry," HRNTT President Tashi Tsering told CNA during a rally held in Taipei earlier in the day.