TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will find it hard to maintain the status quo between unification and independence, a prominent China expert said Wednesday (Sept. 21).

Chao Chun-shan (趙春山), an honorary professor at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, said that Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) will try and alter the present cross-strait situation once he obtains a third term in office at the 20th Communist Party Congress next month. Taiwan should closely monitor the methods Beijing will use to force Taipei closer to unification, the China specialist said.

A news conference by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) on Wednesday, which looked back at 10 years of Taiwan policy, still emphasized peaceful unification and failed to mention a timetable, Chao told CNA.

Because China was unlikely to launch direct talks with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government in Taiwan, relations between Taiwan and the United States were becoming ever more important, with the U.S. element in the situation taking on a larger role, Chao said. While Taiwan’s current status quo, not leaning toward independence or unification, has lasted for eight years under the Kuomintang (KMT) and for six years under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Xi will not allow the status quo to continue for much longer, according to the China expert.

Chao said that over the next few years, Xi will not just oppose independence but also launch new measures to push toward unification, requiring Taiwan’s close attention.