Taiwan has called on Beijing to abandon its provocations aimed at the self-ruled liberal democratic island. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council declared that Beijing needs to “abandon its provocative steps of intrusion, harassment and destruction” and return to talks, in response to comments made by Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the eve of Taiwan’s national day. “Reunification of the nation must be realized, and will definitely be realized,” Xi declared in Beijing in a speech commemorating the 110th anniversary of what the mainland calls the Xinhai Revolution, which established the first two Chinese republics: the CCP on the mainland and Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China. The mainland’s ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims that the self-governed island of Taiwan is a province of China. Taiwan’s presidential office spokesperson Chang Tun-han said, “The nation’s future rests in the hands of Taiwan’s people,” again rejecting the CCP’s claim of “one country, two systems,” which …