China will make utmost efforts to realize peaceful reunification, but never promises to renounce the use of force, to safeguard territorial integrity, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
Peng Qing'en, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said "our overarching policy toward Taiwan remains consistent and clear." He was responding to a query about public opinion noting the omission of the phrase "peaceful reunification" in the Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which emphasized "promoting the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and advancing the cause of national reunification."
"Peaceful reunification and 'One Country, Two Systems' constitute the basic principle for resolving the Taiwan question and the best way to realize national reunification. We remain committed to creating ample space for peaceful reunification and will pursue the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and greatest effort. However, we will never renounce the use of force. We reserve the option of taking all measures necessary," Peng said.
"Peaceful reunification requires joint efforts and mutual goodwill from compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. We call on our Taiwan compatriots to stand with us in firmly opposing any form of Taiwan separatist activities and external interference, steadfastly advancing the cause of national reunification, and striving for the enduring well-being for the Chinese nation while sharing the glory of its great rejuvenation," he said.
China committed to peaceful reunification but never renounces use of force: spokesman
China committed to peaceful reunification but never renounces use of force: spokesman
China committed to peaceful reunification but never renounces use of force: spokesman
The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.
"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.
Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.
Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.
"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.
The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."
The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.
U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official
