Xi Jinping, in a speech at Beijing's Great Hall of the People marking Sun Yat-sen's 160th birthday, calls Taiwan's reunification with China an "unwavering historical mission" that will certainly be realised, urging peaceful unification under "one country, two systems" without mentioning force. Taiwan's government rejects the remarks, while its defence ministry reports 29 Chinese military aircraft conducting a "joint combat readiness patrol" around the island.