“It’s worth watching if Xi continues Hu’s Taiwan policy by yielding more benefits and promoting more market opening before applying more political pressure on President Ma to sign a cross-strait peace agreement,” Hsu said.
Hsu also expected Xi to make use of “soft power,” trying to appeal to Taiwanese sympathies by promoting Chinese culture and establishing a communication platform between the CCP and the DPP to force Ma to accelerate his cross-strait political agenda.
Additionally, Xi could attempt to incorporate Taiwan by signing a wide range of bilateral agreements, including cross-strait cooperation on culture, media, religion and banking, which would become a “web” to advance a “natural unification process,” he said.
Chinese premier-designate Lee Keqiang (李克強) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Qishan (王岐山) are expected to take charge of the economic policies related to Taiwan, given their background in economic affairs, Hsu said.
In terms of Taiwan Affairs Office Director Wang Yi (王毅), who is expected to be promoted to the CCP politburo, Hsu said Wang had successfully enforced a “united front” tactic by arranging visits by hundreds of provincial officials and delegations to Taiwan.
Wang is also expected to play a pivotal role in Beijing’s Taiwan policy in the future as well, Hsu added.
Additional reporting by Huang Wei-chu and agencies
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