While China's goal of "peaceful unification" under the "one country, two systems" model remains unchanged, it is unclear how the Chinese authorities will attempt to establish a channel for interaction with Taiwan in the long term, analysts said yesterday at a forum exploring China's Taiwan policy since the presidential election.
"In the past, China's Taiwan policy was aimed at the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT], but now it is directed at the Democratic Progressive Party [DPP]," said Yang Kai-huang (楊開煌), a political science professor at National Dong-hwa University. "China used to focus more on the outcome of elections and whether the DPP was gaining a foothold. In the future, however, China's Taiwan policy will transcend party politics and the outcomes of individual elections."
Chao Chun-shan (趙春山), a professor at Tamkang University's Institute of China Studies, said the period following legislative elections in December and the US presidential election in November would be crucial.
"China has finally accepted that the DPP is the ruling party in Taiwan; this is a fact they cannot deny," Chao said. "But China's goal of bringing about unification under the `one country, two systems' model has not changed."
Chang Wu-yen (張五岳), also a professor at Tamkang University's Institute of China Studies, pointed out that a policy of "differentiated treatment" is the most notable change in China's Taiwan policy after President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) inauguration speech on May 20. Chang distinguished between policies countering Taiwanese independence and policies trying to bring about unification.
He cited examples of preferential treatment for Taiwanese businesspeople who oppose Taiwanese independence and the difficulties faced by so-called "green taishang," or China-based Taiwanese businesspeople who support pan-green parties.
Chang said the policy of differential treatment derived from a pessimistic outlook on China's part.
"The Chinese authorities are taking a pessimistic stance on Taiwan's political development. The possibility that the pan-green camp will win more than half of the legislative seats in the upcoming elections means that it is possible that the Constitution will be changed to lower the threshold requirements for conducting a referendum," Chang said.
"President Chen has already made his stance on the Constitution clear, but China is failing to see that which is 99 percent likely to happen. They focus instead on the remaining 1 percent," he said.
However, Chao pointed to the difficulties involved in filtering fact from propaganda in cross-strait communication.
"Often, what you get is just disinformation. The difficulty lies in how to separate fact from propaganda ... you can't get the answer from science. In cross-strait analysis, there are no experts, just people with different levels of ignorance," Chao said.
LOW RISK: Most nations do not extradite people accused of political crimes, and the UN says extradition can only happen if the act is a crime in both countries, an official said China yesterday issued wanted notices for two Taiwanese influencers, accusing them of committing “separatist acts” by criticizing Beijing, amid broadening concerns over China’s state-directed transnational repression. The Quanzhou Public Security Bureau in a notice posted online said police are offering a reward of up to 25,000 yuan (US$3,523) for information that could contribute to the investigation or apprehension of pro-Taiwanese independence YouTuber Wen Tzu-yu (溫子渝),who is known as Pa Chiung (八炯) online, and rapper Chen Po-yuan (陳柏源). Wen and Chen are suspected of spreading content that supported secession from China, slandered Chinese policies that benefit Taiwanese and discrimination against Chinese spouses of
ALIGNED THINKING: Taiwan and Japan have a mutual interest in trade, culture and engineering, and can work together for stability, Cho Jung-tai said Taiwan and Japan are two like-minded countries willing to work together to form a “safety barrier” in the Indo-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday said at the opening ceremony of the 35th Taiwan-Japan Modern Engineering and Technology Symposium in Taipei. Taiwan and Japan are close geographically and closer emotionally, he added. Citing the overflowing of a barrier lake in the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) in September, Cho said the submersible water level sensors given by Japan during the disaster helped Taiwan monitor the lake’s water levels more accurately. Japan also provided a lot of vaccines early in the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic,
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
The US approved the possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet spare and repair parts for US$330 million, the Pentagon said late yesterday, marking the first such potential transaction since US President Donald Trump took office in January. "The proposed sale will improve the recipient's capability to meet current and future threats by maintaining the operational readiness of the recipient's fleet of F-16, C-130," and other aircraft, the Pentagon said in a statement. Trump previously said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has told him he would not invade Taiwan while the Republican leader is in office. The announcement of the possible arms
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