The second plenum of China’s 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) got under way on March 5.
At a press conference the day before, the perennial question regarding the budget increase for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) resurfaced, and the answer was that it was 10 percent. Last year, it increased by more than 12 percent.
The NPC spokesperson was clearly unhappy that the international media keep asking the same question year after year, but said that this year was different, because no one asked why the budget was increased.
There is of course a reason why the international community is so concerned with the annual increase in China’s already huge military budget, and that is that, as the NPC spokesperson said, China “will not forget” the historical lesson that “anyone who falls behind will be pushed around and bullied.”
That is a chilling, unfriendly answer.
With the exception of a few terrorist organizations, it is very rare these days that a country’s officials express such resentment when announcing their country’s policies to the outside world. Obviously, China’s “hundred years of humiliation” were very bitter and bred a lot of resentment, and they must have been a horrible experience for the members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). So much so, in fact, that they now take every opportunity to express their animosity, which is causing people to look askance at them and makes it difficult for them to change preconceived ideas about China.
At the same time as the NPC stressed that the purpose of increasing the military budget is to allow the Chinese to work and live peacefully, in the US, FBI agents were reported to have carried out a large investigation of illegal maternity centers in southern California. Many wealthy Chinese women have used underground channels to enter the US and give birth to their children there so they can obtain US residency.
The US government is treating this as a major issue that may have an impact on national security, and US customs and border patrols have started making announcements calling for strict reviews of pregnant women entering the country, saying that anyone whose visa is suspected to extend beyond an expected birth date could be denied entry.
China’s wealthy are leaving for the US in droves to live the American dream. This is embarrassing. China’s state apparatus is divorced from its civil society and there are not many points of intersection. It is about time that the Chinese government, which is currently trying to promote a “Chinese dream,” started thinking about why that is.
Let us look at the developments of the cross-strait relationship based on this contradiction between government and civil society using the unilateral announcement of the M503 flight route as an example. China is now saying that it will move the route slightly westward and delay its implementation to address Taiwan’s dissatisfaction.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) have expressed dissatisfaction that the westward shift is insufficient, although they say that it is acceptable, thus in fact becoming proponents of the M503 route. If the Chinese authorities think the response of the Taiwanese government means that the case is settled, then they are wrong. Taiwanese are not that easily deceived, and they are of course not as politicized and suspicious as the Taiwan Affairs Office says they are.
The NPC has passed a resolution confirming the possibility that China will take military action against Taiwan. Politically speaking, Chinese leaders are promoting peaceful development, but they will never give up the option of military action against Taiwan.
Legally speaking, China’s so-called “Anti-Secession” Law paves the way for a military attack on Taiwan, and the fact that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has not rescinded the law only goes to show that he is following in the footsteps of his predecessor, former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤).
The number of long-distance missiles pointed at Taiwan from across the Taiwan Strait continues to increase and the PLA’s regular military exercises continue. Furthermore, Taiwan often uncovers espionage. All this is undeniable evidence of China’s intentions.
Do Chinese officials really think that they will be able to convince Taiwanese reporters that everything is peachy by allowing them to visit the East China Air Traffic Management Bureau?
It is one thing that the current A470 flight route is overcrowded and flight regularity low; announcing the M503 route without first obtaining Taiwan’s approval and intentionally placing it close to the Taiwan Strait’s median line is another thing entirely.
Does China think it will be able to confuse the Taiwanese by bundling all these issues up and discussing them together?
In the wake of China’s increasing military expenditure and Chinese women traveling to the US to give birth there, things are clearly not that simple.
China is the reason that the situation in the Taiwan Strait is so sensitive. This latest flight route “test” reveals the superficiality of cross-strait relations and the fragility of mutual trust. China, should find another solution to the flight route problem as a step toward promoting regional peace and stability. It is also the wise thing to if it wants to gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan.
Even someone who is on Beijing’s side must see that it makes no sense to let a minor issue jeopardize bigger and more important matters.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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