Two weeks ago, the Chinese ambassador to France asserted, ‘After the reunification with Taiwan, the Taiwanese population must be re-educated’. This seemed like an unusually frank response from a regime that is undiplomatic at the best of times. When questioned about this at the National Press Club in Canberra a week ago, China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, reiterated the comment: the Taiwanese had to learn the correct understanding of China.