Speaking in the Legislative Yuan on March 30, Premier William Lai (賴清德) reiterated that he is a “Taiwan independence worker,” that he has all along been in favor of sovereignty and independence for Taiwan, and that there is no consensus at all about the so-called “1992 consensus.”
Although Lai was only answering questions put to him by legislators, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) responded by screaming that Lai’s stubborn adherence to his pro-independence stance is dangerous and presumptuous.
The premier responded by reiterating that in the age of democracy, anyone can say what they think about where the nation should be headed and they can call for Taiwanese independence.
Lai said he is a “Taiwan independence worker” because he is a follower of the late democracy activist and free speech advocate Deng Nan-jung (鄭南榕).
As Taiwan’s chief executive, sticking to his pro-independence stance, back straight and shoulders unbowed, is what Lai needs to do in the current domestic and overseas environment.
During former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) eight years in office, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sneaked in the idea that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “one China,” based on the fictitious “1992 consensus,” as if eventual unification represented mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.
However, from the Sunflower movement of 2014 to the election of 2016, it was the KMT’s “one China” line that caused it to end up in the opposition, showing that the real consensus in Taiwan is maintaining Taiwan’s status as a sovereign and independent country.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government has refused to accept wholesale the fictitious “1992 consensus.” In response, China has adopted a ruthless strategy toward Taiwan that includes not engaging in negotiations and consultations with the Tsai administration.
The KMT and the CCP continue to weave their fictitious dream, while China has launched an economic offensive by offering “31 favorable measures for Taiwanese.”
Evidently, economic warfare is the main focus and China is mobilizing its soft, hard and sharp powers to exert greater force in opposition to Taiwan independence, while at the same time aiming to cultivate elements in Taiwan who identify with China and support unification for economic reasons.
“There is no such thing as a free lunch” is also true of China’s economic “united front” strategy. To put it plainly, the Chinese incentives are only meant to borrow talented people from Taiwan to make up for China’s own shortage of professional expertise.
As nice as they might sound, these “favorable measures” are really aimed at sucking Taiwan dry. In the long term, they will be good for China, but bad for Taiwan, while being of some slight benefit to those who are recruited by China’s “united front” strategy.
However, even though there is only a paltry profit to be made, China is ready any time to wave the big stick at those who take the bait. Any Taiwanese businessperson or entertainer who sets foot in the Chinese market is at risk of being labeled pro-independence and if they do not own up, they will end up losing every penny.
This sort of gameplay by Beijing is sure to get a bad reaction from Taiwanese, but China is determined to use this kind of “public trial” to wear down the will of Taiwanese to determine their own future, until such time when they swallow the idea of “one China” without resistance.
“Favorable for Taiwan” is synonymous with “selling out Taiwan.”
Faced with China’s state violence, Taiwanese businesspeople based in China and entertainers who work there are in a weak position, so it is understandable that a few of them have responded by “owning up.”
The most shameful kind of behavior is to report on other people’s supposed support for Taiwan independence, and this is especially true of the likes of entertainer Huang An (黃安), who has been pursuing his career in China since the late 1990s and is infamous in Taiwan for accusing individuals of being “pro-Taiwanese independence” and was at the center of a controversy involving Taiwanese teenage K-pop star Chou Tzu-yu (周子瑜) in 2016.
Each time such an incident occurs, China’s thuggish behavior attracts a torrent of condemnation, both spoken and written, from all corners of Taiwanese society, but Beijing always turns a deaf ear and goes on doing the same thing. Given the huge difference in size between China and Taiwan, Beijing can easily dismiss the Taiwanese public’s complaints.
However, for Lai, a top official, to unhesitatingly state his pro-independence stance in the legislature is a strong counterattack to Chinese bullying, because his statements highlight an unbowed national will.
Imagine what would happen if Taiwan’s highest executive leader were to go to the highest organ of public opinion and make statements, or fail to make statements, in such a way as to draw a line between himself and Taiwanese independence. What terrible harm that would inflict on Taiwan’s national will.
The two main factors influencing Taiwan’s national environment are the US and China. China wants to annex Taiwan, as can be seen at a glance from the things it says and does, only leaving Taiwan a choice between surrendering or not. The US, on the other hand, has never wanted to annex Taiwan.
US governments have come and gone, but their core policy has always been to bolster US-Taiwan relations, help Taiwan defend itself and safeguard the nation’s democracy. China, on the other hand, has continuously stepped up its threats against Taiwan, as well as threaten US national interests and the security of its allies.
That is why there have been a number of proposals to upgrade US-Taiwan relations and even to establish official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Taiwan today is in the eye of a geopolitical storm. How to grasp the ever-changing triangular relations and manage risks and gains — this is an unavoidable question for the government of Tsai and Lai.
Face to face with China and with pro-unification groups, what needs to be done is to talk loud and clear about Taiwan independence. We cannot treat Taiwanese independence as an original sin just because China’s TAO makes a fuss and unification supporters go around waving China’s red flag. The international situation is changing and so is the situation in the Taiwan Strait.
The challenges facing Taiwan have grown, but there are also more opportunities. On the roadmap of progress toward normal statehood, we cannot only look at the progress made and rush forward.
We have to consider and give equal importance to both the good and the bad sides, and take pragmatic steps. If we are to maintain the “status quo” of independence, we will have to make a firm stand and act in a pragmatic manner.
When two countries confront one another, the relatively weak one, apart from international strategic alliances, must also try to win time and space.
Both internally and externally, a Taiwan-centered polity’s strategy for survival and development is precisely to reinvigorate Taiwan’s independent economic energy to enable the nation to proceed pragmatically along the road to normal statehood, so that its 23.5 million people might be free of the red terror of being labeled as favoring Taiwanese independence.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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