Deng Yuwen, a researcher at China's Charhar Institute think-tank and who formerly worked in the Study Times, a newspaper of the Central Party School when Xi Jinping was its President but was removed and penalised after advocating a rethink of China’s policy towards N Korea as Xi Jinping became General Secretary, wrote in Hongkong's South China Morning Post on January 3, 2018. Referring to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s report at the 19th Party Congress in which he identified “one country, two systems” and the reunification of the motherland as a fundamental strategy of a “new era” for China, Deng Yuwen claimed this provides a clue to Beijing’s timeline for resolving the Taiwan problem. Stating that the new era refers to a period from now until the middle of this century, he said China is set to achieve the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” and become a modern socialist power by 2050. He said a list of 14 items describe this new era, and one of them involves reunification with Taiwan, which means Beijing must take control of Taiwan by 2050 at the latest. He maintained that as long as Taiwan remains outside the Chinese fold the “great rejuvenation” of the Chinese nation cannot happen. No surprise, then, to hear Xi say that Beijing would never allow “any individual, any organisation, any political party, at any time or by any means, to split any single piece of the Chinese territory”. He also pointed to the cautionary remarks of Li Kexin, Minister in the PRC Embassy in Washington DC, that “The day a US Navy vessel arrives in Kaohsiung is the day that our People’s Liberation Army unifies Taiwan with military force.” Stating it is unlikely the PLA would really start a war over a US Navy visit to Taiwan, he said the "words reflect a consistent belief of Chinese leaders: that Taiwan has to be taken back by force". He added that "since Xi came to power, the party has been open about its wish for the PLA to be battle-ready. No doubt the army’s first target would be Taiwan". According to Deng Yuwen, "Xi’s sense of calling would never allow him to tolerate Taiwan’s indefinite separation from the mainland. Whatever one may think of Xi, most people would agree that he is driven by a strong sense of national pride. That is why, as soon as he came to power, he launched the “Chinese dream” campaign and set out the goal of achieving national rejuvenation". Asserting that Xi Jinping would surely not tolerate an indefinite split between Taiwan and the mainland. Saying 2020 is a likely date for Xi Jinping to move against Taiwan, he observed that Xi Jinping had pledged a major upgrade in mechanisation and the communications systems in the armed forces by 2020, which would greatly enhance the country’s strategic capabilities.
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