{"id":49530,"date":"2022-10-22T01:24:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/video\/2022\/oct\/21\/could-xi-follow-putins-example-and-try-to-annex-taiwan-video-explainer"},"modified":"2022-10-22T01:24:00","modified_gmt":"2022-10-21T16:24:00","slug":"could-xi-follow-putins-example-and-try-to-annex-taiwan-video-explainer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eastasianews.net\/wp\/?p=49530","title":{"rendered":"Could Xi follow Putin’s example and try to annex Taiwan? \u2013 video explainer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, struck a more assertive than usual note at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing on Sunday, as he laid out his vision for the country’s relationship with the self-governing island of Taiwan. The ‘wheels of history’ were moving towards reunification, he said, and ‘complete reunification of the motherland must be achieved and can definitely be achieved’.<\/p>\n

Tensions over the island hit a nadir this summer when the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, embarked on a controversial visit to Taipei, provoking a fierce response from China, which carried out a series of military exercises around the island in response to what it described as an ‘egregious provocation<\/a>‘. <\/p>\n

As Xi outlines his plans to members of the Communist party, Guardian correspondent Emma Graham-Harrison explains what Beijing’s position will mean for its relationship with Taiwan, and whether Xi is likely to order an attack on the island.<\/p>\n