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Foreign powers can not stop China-Taiwan reunification, Xi believes

The meeting was held at the Great Hall of the People in the western corner of Tiananmen Square in Beijing

HONG KONG, April 10. /TASS/. No foreign power will be able to stop the reunification of continental China and Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during a meeting with ex-head of the Taiwanese administration (2008-2016) Ma Ying-jeou.

"Foreign powers will not be able to stem the historical tide towards the country’s reunification," Xi Jinping pointed out.

The meeting was held at the Great Hall of the People in the western corner of Tiananmen Square in Beijing, broadcast by the Taiwanese TVBS channel.

Ma Ying-jeou has been in China on an official visit since April 1. During the trip, he has visited the Guangdong, Shaanxi and Beijing provinces. The visit will conclude on April 11.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949 when the remaining Kuomintang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) fled to the island after suffering a defeat in China’s civil war. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. According to Beijing’s official position, which is supported by most countries, including Russia, Taiwan is one of China’s provinces.

Ma Ying-jeou served as the head of the Taiwanese administration from 2008 to 2016. He contributed to de-escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait and undertook the policy of conjunction with continental China. On November 7, 2015, a historic meeting of Xi and Ma Ying-jeou took place in Singapore. It was the first high-level meeting between the Chinese and Taiwanese leaders after the Chinese Civil War ended.

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