The DPRK has also allowed the UN agency to open three offices in the area to monitor food distribution, it said. PRC President Jiang Zemin and Premier Li Peng, who returned to Beijing from handover ceremonies in Hong Kong, appealed to Taiwan to see Hong Kong's return as both an example and a big step in the long-held goal of a unified China. Once Portugal relinquishes control over Macau in 1999, after 462 years, Taiwan will be the last territory of imperial China outside Beijing's control. His comments were broadcast nationwide. Jiang urged Taiwanese leaders to accept Beijing's sovereignty and cautioned that its growing strength can't be ignored.
China now enjoys a higher international status in the world.
It is against this background and for this very reason that Hong Kong has come back to China. However, the PRC leaders' appeals drew no compromise from Taiwan. Taipei has consistently rejected the model, saying the Republic of China has never lost sovereignty despite losing the civil war in 1949 and fleeing to Taiwan. Lee said Taiwan can still defend itself and has 30 diplomatic alliances. Besides, we are a democratic country.