ABSTRACT
On 30 January 1995, Jiang Zemin, would-be successor to Deng Xiaoping as paramount leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), put his stamp on Beijing’s Taiwan policy. In a speech to welcome in the lunar new year, he quoted the words of the ‘National Father’ of China, Dr Sun Yat-sen (1866–1925): ‘Unification is the wish of the whole body of Chinese citizens. If there is unification then the whole people will be fortunate; if there is no unification then there will be suffering’ (Jiang 1995).
