Xi Jinping Suggests China Could Invade Taiwan—Prompting Applause

In a major speech, President Xi Jinping has said China would "never promise to renounce the use of force" against Taiwan—prompting applause from delegates.

"We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification," Xi said as the Chinese Communist Party's 20th National Congress kicked off in Beijing. "But we will never promise to renounce the use of force. And we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary."

Taiwan has maintained a separate government from China since 1949, but China claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory.

Unification of the two sides "will be achieved," Xi said, according to the Associated Press.

China needs to prevent "interference by outside forces," Xi said, a reference to foreign politicians the ruling party says are encouraging Taiwan to make its de facto independence permanent—a step the mainland says would lead to war.

Beijing has sought to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island. It stepped up that campaign after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August.

In response to Xi's speech, the Taiwanese Cabinet's Mainland Affairs Council said the island's 23 million people had the right to determine their own future and would not accept Beijing's unilateral demands, the AP reported.

"We firmly call on the Chinese Communist authorities to abandon the imposition of a political framework and the use of military force and coercion," the council said in a statement.

China has frozen all contacts with Taiwan since President Tsai Ing-wen's election to her first term in 2016.

The congress will install leaders for the next five years.

In a break with tradition, delegates are expected to hand Xi a third five-year term as the party's general secretary.

Amnesty International warned Sunday that extending Xi's time in power will be a "disaster for human rights."

"Confirmation of Xi Jinping's third term will be an ominous moment not only for the millions of Chinese citizens who have suffered grave human rights violations under his rule, but also for people around the world who feel the impact of the Chinese government's repression," the group's deputy regional director, Hana Young, said in a statement.

Young added: "The government's policies and practices under Xi's leadership pose a threat to rights not just at home, but globally. From the government's campaign to silence and forcibly repatriate Uyghurs overseas to its attempts to redefine the very meaning of human rights at the United Nations, the arm of Chinese state repression increasingly extends beyond China's borders."