TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- In response to Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech mentioning the "1992 consensus" and "one China principle" given last week, the representatives of Taiwan's indigenous people issued a joint statement today in the Presidential Office saying that Taiwan is a traditional area of the aboriginal peoples and is not part of China's territory.

On Jan. 2, Xi gave a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of a policy message from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) entitled “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan,” made on Jan. 1, 1979. During the speech, Xi insisted that Taiwan "must and will be" united with China based on the "1992 consensus" under the "one China principle."

Today, representatives of the Presidential Office's Indigenous Historical Justice and Transitional Justice Committee issued a joint statement entitled "Taiwan's Indigenous Peoples Message to Chairman Xi Jinping of China."

According to the statement, the Aboriginal people have lived in Taiwan for more than 6,000 years, and they are not ethnic minorities of the Chinese nation.

Oral history handed down through the generations through the people of the islands and ocean clearly show that Taiwan is the traditional domain of the indigenous people and the ancestral land that the indigenous people have been protecting for generations, not the territory of China, read the statement.

The statement pointed out that Taiwan's indigenous people witnessed the words and deeds of many waves of people that came to the island over the centuries, but the people never gave up their natural sovereignty. "Mr. Xi Jinping, you don't understand dignity, so you misunderstand the greatness."

Xi Jinping's promotion of single cultural values, unity, and power are neither great nor desirable, said the representatives.

The statement said that, while speaking on the behalf of the Chinese government, Xi emphasized the importance of use force as the backing to unify Taiwan with China and implement the "one country, two systems" framework. Xi claimed that he would not hurt other Chinese people, but the statement said violence is wrong, whether it is perpetrated against Chinese or not, no one should be harmed.

"Violence cannot bring peace, please lead China to a true civilization, stop threatening the people of Taiwan with force, and strive for the enjoyment of human rights and freedoms by Chinese people," the statement read.

The statement closed by saying, "Taiwan's indigenous peoples and Taiwan's subjectivity reject threats and refuse to give in." Taiwan's future is the independent decision of all ethnic groups on the land, including Taiwan's indigenous peoples.

In addition, it wrote that before the indigenous peoples exercise their collective right to self-determination, no government, political party, or group may consult with foreign forces or states to incorporate the traditional areas of the indigenous peoples into the territory of other countries or come under the substantive management of other countries. "This is our determination to protect our motherland. The indigenous people of Taiwan have persisted for thousands of years and will continue to do so."