Despite a freeze in cross-strait relations since the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in May last year, Beijing’s “united front” tactics have continued unabated, but with the focus shifting to ordinary Taiwanese and local non-Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials.
After the Sunflower movement of 2014, China has revisited its strategy, realizing that its over-reliance on cultivating Taiwanese politicians and businesspeople had done little to win the hearts and minds of the public.
Beijing’s shifting of gears is marked by its promotion of policies it has dubbed the “three middles and the youth” (三中一青) — residents of central and southern Taiwan, middle and low-income families, small and medium-sized enterprises, and young people — and “one generation and one stratum” (一代一線) — the young generation and the grassroots stratum — as well as its exclusion of DPP local government heads.
Official cross-strait interactions were frequent during former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, which turned a blind eye to China’s tactics, a point dramatically underscored by high-profile united-front events, such as the many cross-strait forums.
At the same time, politicians and business figures traveled to and fro across the Strait, with the Ma administration’s pro-China stance facilitating their passage.
However, cross-strait exchanges hit a bump in 2014, when a backlash against the proposed cross-strait service trade agreement triggered the Sunflower movement and shocked Beijing from its complacency, forcing it to rethink its policy.
After re-evaluating its Taiwan policy, the Chinese Communist Party in the same year unveiled the “three middles and the youth” strategy, with its united-front operations targeting ordinary Taiwanese and young people.
Officials working at China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said that Beijing this year revised its “three middles and the youth” policy, calling it the “one generation and one stratum” policy.
The change signaled a renewed emphasis on broadening its conceptual definition of ordinary Taiwanese and forming local connections, the officials said, adding that the ultimate goal was to “dispel misconceptions about China held by ordinary Taiwanese.”
Estimates place Taiwanese visits to China last year at about 5.73 million as Beijing stepped up its exchange programs, emphasizing personal participation, interaction and experience.
China has made an extra effort to attract Taiwanese teenagers with summer camps and lowered the minimum test score standards for Taiwanese high-school students to apply for Chinese colleges.
These actions could be read as the incentivizing measures of united-front operations.
The TAO has opened 53 youth start-up bases and showcase locations, while allowing holders of Beijing-issued “Taiwan compatriot travel document” to purchase airline and train tickets online.
In addition, a variety of subsidies are offered to Taiwanese for purposes as diverse as social science research and housing.
Taken together, the measures constitute an integrated and holistic approach to united-front operations, incorporating education, internship, job creation, start-ups and other things whose appeal is not limited to political and economic leaders.
China has also adopted a “divide and conquer” strategy in dealing with politicians at the municipal and county levels.
Beijing cultivates friendly relationships with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) city mayors and county commissioners, while carefully maintaining a flexible attitude in dealing with independent politicians, such as Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
At the same time, China’s snubbing of Taichung’s and Taoyuan’s mayors — both members of the DPP — at an urban traffic policy conference in Shanghai shows that its hardline approach toward DPP mayors and commissioners will only intensify.
Translated by staff writer Jonathan Chin
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS