‘Correct Understanding of China’: Another Chinese Diplomat Advocates ‘Reeducation’ of Taiwan

China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, strongly suggested that Beijing aims to “reeducate” the Taiwanese population, seeming to endorse remarks that another Chinese envoy made last week.

Xiao addressed Australia’s National Press Club on Wednesday, offering standard Chinese Communist Party rhetoric on Taiwan and hinting at future military aggression targeting the country. He told reporters there that China would “never rule out” the use of “all necessary means” to bring about the “peaceful reunification” of Taiwan. The word reunification is the party’s preferred euphemism with which to refer to a takeover of the island; Taiwan has never been ruled by the CCP-controlled People’s Republic of China. That was a stark threat, in light of Beijing’s heightened military activity in the Taiwan Strait this month.

Xiao’s comments also stand out because they hint at what Beijing plans to do to Taiwan’s 23 million inhabitants after the democracy’s potential absorption by the communist regime.

Last week, China’s ambassador to France, Lu Shaye, said during two separate interviews that Beijing would implement a “reeducation” of Taiwan’s population after the party achieves reunification; his use of that phrase drew international condemnation, as it sounds similar to Beijing’s use of language regarding its brutal policies intended to destroy the Uyghur ethnicity in Xinjiang.

Pressed by a reporter to confirm whether post-reunification “reeducation” is an official Chinese government policy, Xiao denied having read about Lu’s remarks or such an official policy, emphasizing that Taiwan’s residents are Chinese citizens. He did not deny that there could be such a push.

“My personal understanding is that once Taiwan is reunited, coming back to the motherland, there might be a process for the people in Taiwan to have a correct understanding of China,” he said.

When the reporter asked if that reeducation process could resemble the Xinjiang camps, Xiao said, “I’d rather not use the word reeducation” and pushed back on the idea that the two topics are related.

“The people in Xinjiang are also Chinese citizens, and they receive education in school, in colleges, in universities about China, about their motherland. That’s pretty normal,” he said.