For what it's worth, which may not be much, I think Mr Hu is unwise to stress the independence/unification issue. Generally speaking in the last few decades, once political debates have been framed in sovereignty terms, it's been a one-way ticket towards independence or autonomy, unless a referendum or election has confirmed the desire by the affected people to remain part of the motherland. This has descended into nasty conflicts, as we know, and while with regards to such places as Kosovo the evil hand of the American imperialist has been fashionably detected that line does not play well in East Timor or Estonia.