‘It’s his legacy’: Xi Jinping on ‘tight timeframe’ with bid to TAKE OVER Taiwan - Mark Montgomery

China has ramped up military activity in recent years as it seeks to take back what it views as a renegade territory.

A decisive turning point could be taking place this weekend with Taiwanese citizens taking to the ballot box to decide on their future.

“Xi’s belief is that it is the Chinese Communist Party’s [CCP] legacy to reincorporate Taiwan”, he said.

“He I really a cult of personality and an embodiment of the CCP. It’s his legacy to reincorporate Taiwan.

“That puts you on a much tighter time frame for taking action on Taiwan.”

Montgomery says this puts a cornerstone policies of one of the country’s main political parties in jeopardy.

Kuomintang (KMT) have historically been more open to positive relations with China.

Montgomery said it is akin to the saying “don’t poke the bear”, but he warned that this approach is not likely to resonate with a determined Xi.

“Just because you don’t poke the beat doesn’t mean that China won’t take the opportunity either through economic pressure, cyber pressures or maybe through Maritime pressure.”

With both parties looking to appeal to the younger vote, Montgomery believes China could be left “infuriated” by the ditching of a particular policy.

He claims the country’s youth are less inclined to support reunification with China, and are therefore more swayed by policies edging away from this.

The KMT has previously endorsed unification with China, but according to Montgomery, they have shifted their stance.

“The KMT has moved away from being too concerned about infuriating China”, he said.

“They’re recognising that the youth of Taiwan do not see themselves as Chinese and therefore don’t vote for anyone that would sound like they want reconciliation.

“So therefore, you see less of that from the KMT.”