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
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
RSS