Retired PLA General Liu Jingsong, who retired from active service in 1997 and was formerly President of the influential Chinese Academy of Military Sciences, said at an annual conference of the Global Times newspaper that China will not leave the Taiwan problem "unresolved for a long time" and that the Chinese government would not be afraid to use force to resolve "the Taiwan issue". He said "The Taiwan issue will not remain unresolved for a long time. We will not abandon the possibility of using force; according to the law, it is also an option to resolve the issue by military means if necessary. Whoever has political power in Taiwan, the only path (for the island) is to preserve the development of peaceful relations between the two sides of the strait, and eventually to bring about reunification."