because of the context. first of all, as you mentioned, these comments come around a couple of significant anniversaries, china recently celebrating its national day, taiwan s national day tomorrow, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties that it has been flying into the taiwanese air defence identification zone, acts seen as deeply provocative by taiwan and its allies. and of course a lot of that is kind of business as usual, linked to these sorts of anniversaries when we see an uptick in rhetoric, but there is something bigger behind all this as well and that is the sense that possibly the political and strategic balance is shifting as well. the politics, because of course taiwan and china in many ways have never been further apart, china growing increasingly authoritarian, taiwan today a modern and vibrant democracy, but also as china grows more authoritarian, it is growing stronger, more wealthy, more powerful, it is updating its military and there is a fear h
with taiwan must be fulfilled. his comments come at a time of heightened military tension in the region. it also comes a day before taiwan which china views as a breakaway province celebrates its national day. our correspondent, john sudworth, has more from taipei. this was a very confident chinese president saying not only must unification with taiwan be achieved, but that it will be achieved. you know, underlining this idea of this inevitability behind this process. of course it is important to say this is the kind of thing we have heard from the chinese leadership many, many times before. i think it is coming under more scrutiny at the moment because of the context. first of all, as you mentioned, these comments come around a couple of significant anniversaries, china recently celebrating its national day, taiwan s national day tomorrow, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties that it has been flying into the taiwanese air defence identification zone, acts seen
our correspondentjohn sudworth is in taipei. this was a very confident chinese president saying not only must unification with taiwan be achieved, but that it will be achieved. you know, underlining this idea of this inevitability behind this process. of course it is important to say this is the kind of thing we have heard from the chinese leadership many, many times before. i think it is coming under more scrutiny at the moment because of the context. first of all, as you mentioned, these comments come around a couple of significant anniversaries, china recently celebrating its national day, taiwan s national day tomorrow, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties that it has been flying into the taiwanese air defence identification zone, acts seen as deeply provocative by taiwan and its allies. and of course a lot of that is kind of business as usual, linked to these sorts
this was a very confident chinese president saying not only must unification with taiwan be achieved, but that it will be achieved. you know, underlining this idea of this inevitability behind this process. of course it is important to say this is the kind of thing we have heard from the chinese leadership many, many times before. i think it is coming under more scrutiny at the moment because of the context. first of all, as you mentioned, these comments come around a couple of significant anniversaries, china recently celebrating its national day, taiwan s national day tomorrow, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties that it has been flying into the taiwanese air defence identification zone, acts seen as deeply provocative by taiwan and its allies. and of course a lot of that is kind of business as usual, linked to these sorts of anniversaries when we see an uptick in rhetoric, but there is something bigger behind all this as well and that is the sense that poss
heard from the chinese leadership many, many times before. i think it is coming under more scrutiny at the moment because of the context. first of all, as you mentioned, these comments come around a couple of significant anniversaries, china recently celebrating its national day, taiwan s national day tomorrow, but also china upping the tension with these military sorties that it has been flying into the taiwanese air defence identification zone, acts seen as deeply provocative by taiwan and its allies. and of course a lot of that is kind of business as usual, linked to these sorts of anniversaries when we see an uptick in rhetoric, but there is something bigger behind all this as well and that is the sense that possibly the political and strategic balance is shifting as well. the politics, because of course taiwan and china in many ways have never been further apart, china growing increasingly authoritarian, taiwan today a modern