China should think about following the global trend and implement systemic reform that would result in long-term security, democratic freedom, human rights and the rule of law, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday.
The council issued the statement after China’s National People’s Congress yesterday ratified a constitutional amendment that abolishes presidential term limits, thereby enabling Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to rule indefinitely.
Saying it has yet to see a system of checks, balances and systematized guidelines to accompany the change, the council said that Taiwan’s government would continue to monitor China’s activity, and would carefully evaluate and respond to the situation.
Xi is likely to seek stability in cross-strait and foreign relations in his second term, but in the medium to long-term, considering his desire to fulfill the “Chinese dream,” a unification timetable might be revealed, Cross-Strait Policy Association secretary-general Wang Chih-sheng (王智盛) said.
However, in a third term, Xi would likely put greater pressure on Taiwan, so Taiwan must strengthen itself and accumulate “bargaining chips” now, Wang said.
The most important task is to ensure the cohesion and integration of opinions within Taiwan, he added.
Xi’s indefinite retention of power would affect the entire world, National Chengchi University Graduate Institute of East Asian Studies chairman Wang Hsin-hsien (王信賢) said.
The behavior of some democratic nations in recent years has made many people think that democracy has failed, he said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which has always been good at promotion, seized this opportunity and secured its power through a constitutional amendment.
“The leadership of the CCP is the most essential characteristic of China’s socialism with Chinese characteristics” was added to Article 1 of the Chinese constitution, he said.
This suggests that anyone who opposes the CCP is opposing the nation, he said, adding that the party could claim it is governing according to the constitution.
Former deputy minister of defense and former MAC deputy minister Lin Chung-pin (林中斌) said that Xi is now likely to increase the number of “soft” measures aimed at Taiwan in a bid to win the hearts of more Taiwanese.
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