TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Even after the 20th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, there is no evidence that Beijing has a timetable for unification with Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said Friday (Oct. 28).

With Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) staging large-scale military exercises during the past summer and even writing the suppression of Taiwan independence into the CCP constitution, observers have theorized as to when China might try to attack Taiwan. Xi reportedly wants the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready in 2027, while United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently mentioned next year as a possibility.

However, Chiu told reporters after a forum about the “PRC's Power Shift and Governance” in Taipei on Friday there was no sign of China having committed to a timetable for action against Taiwan, CNA reported.

Despite the absence of a public plan, “peaceful reunification” and “one country, two systems” were still openly mentioned in the congress report, the minister noted. The general expectation was that Xi would increase pressure on Taiwan during his new five-year term as CCP leader.

As long as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) governed Taiwan, China would put the fight against Taiwan independence at the forefront of its policies, Chiu said. Meanwhile, when the Kuomintang (KMT) ruled, it would emphasize its campaign for unification.

At Friday’s forum, the MAC minister called on China to abandon its threats of force against Taiwan, which were damaging regional stability and widening the divide between the two sides. Military confrontation was not an option for cross-strait relations, so China should engage in constructive dialogue without preconditions to resolve differences, he said.