Xi offers practical means to inevitable reunification

The message to compatriots in Taiwan issued by Beijing on Jan 1, 1979, made clear the question of Taiwan is an internal affair and set out the fundamental policy of striving for peaceful reunification.

In his speech on Wednesday to commemorate the 40th anniversary of that message, President Xi Jinping made clear those two points still hold true today, while adding substance to how that inevitable outcome should be achieved.

China must and will be united, he said, proposing political negotiation and democratic consultation to work out a systematic arrangement for the peaceful development of the cross-Straits relationship.