In a speech on Jan. 2 marking the 40th anniversary of China’s 1979 “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan,” Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) said that he wants to “explore a Taiwanese version of one country, two systems.”
As a Hong Konger, I am more familiar with the “one country, two systems” policy than anyone, and it could even be said that it has made an indelible impression on me.
In case the “one country, two systems” model is going to be implemented in Taiwan, it would be a good idea to listen to the opinions of those who have already been through this, and then sit down with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials to engage in some serious “exploration” of the changes society would go through.
Here are a few issues that would be worth exploring:
First, would there also be a basic law for Taiwan, like the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, that would replace the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and a guarantee that Taiwan would be left unchanged for 50 years?
Second, would there be “gradual and progressive” elections in Taiwan and would the Legislative Yuan, just like Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, be based on “functional constituencies” giving permanent power and influence to minority groups?
Third, would candidates for a chief executive of Taiwan be screened and appointed by the CCP?
Fourth, would the transfer of government power in Taiwan also be simply a “change of flag, with everything else to remain unchanged”?
Fifth, would freedom of speech continue to include the right to utter the words “Taiwanese independence” and would book publishers be kidnapped?
Sixth, would people who advocate Taiwanese independence be deprived of their right to contest elections and organize demonstrations?
Seventh, would lawmakers be thrown out by the speaker if they protest during a legislative session?
Eighth, would Taiwan enact a new national security law, a new national flag law and a new national anthem law?
Ninth, when a few years have passed, would Taiwanese suddenly be told by Chinese leadership that “one country” overrides “two systems”?
Tenth, would Taiwanese be warned by the CCP leadership after a few years that your “two systems” could be canceled at any time?
Eleventh, would the national coffers be raided, with Taiwan forced to participate in the massive money giveaway that is the Belt and Road Initiative?
Twelfth, would Taiwan be ordered to squander taxpayers’ hard-earned money on white elephant projects, such as a bridge connecting Xiamen, Kinmen and Taipei — a project that would be extremely costly to build and maintain, and out of proportion to its usefulness?
Thirteenth, would Taiwan’s friends among US and Japanese politicians continue to have free access to Taiwan?
If these questions were explored with CCP officials, they would not hesitate to guarantee that none of these things would come to pass. As this is the case, there really is no need to explore these things. Right?
Kot Chun is a retired teacher and author in Hong Kong.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
There is much evidence that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is sending soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and is learning lessons for a future war against Taiwan. Until now, the CCP has claimed that they have not sent PLA personnel to support Russian aggression. On 18 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinskiy announced that the CCP is supplying war supplies such as gunpowder, artillery, and weapons subcomponents to Russia. When Zelinskiy announced on 9 April that the Ukrainian Army had captured two Chinese nationals fighting with Russians on the front line with details
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), joined by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), held a protest on Saturday on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. They were essentially standing for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is anxious about the mass recall campaign against KMT legislators. President William Lai (賴清德) said that if the opposition parties truly wanted to fight dictatorship, they should do so in Tiananmen Square — and at the very least, refrain from groveling to Chinese officials during their visits to China, alluding to meetings between KMT members and Chinese authorities. Now that China has been defined as a foreign hostile force,
RSS