Although Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) did not mention Taiwan in his high-profile meeting with US President Donald Trump last week, Taiwan should keep its eyes peeled for a new wave of “united front” operations to co-opt pro-China forces to promote “peaceful unification” across the Taiwan Strait.
After the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Oct. 19 elected Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) as its new chairwoman, who has gone from once advocating independence to leaning toward China, Xi — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) general secretary — sent his congratulations and expressed his expectation that the two parties would cooperate more to adhere to the so-called “1992 consensus.”
On Oct. 25, a date China distorts as a “commemoration of Taiwan’s retrocession,” Wang Huning (王滬寧), the CCP’s fourth-ranked leader and Beijing’s top official in charge of Taiwan policy, reiterated that China would communicate with Taiwan’s pro-China forces to promote “one country, two systems” and “peaceful unification.”
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency from Sunday to Tuesday last week published three opinion pieces calling “unification with China” the only solution for Taiwan and mapping out how “patriots could rule Taiwan after reunification” to guarantee “Taiwan’s existing social system and way of life would be respected.”
The Chinese authorities and their mouthpiece have intensified their “united front” tactics to incorporate pro-China politicians and parties in Taiwan to promote cross-strait unification under the veil of the “1992 consensus” and the “one China” ideology. Such work has increased since the KMT allied with the Taiwan People’s Party to gain a legislative majority and will continue to increase after Cheng’s win.
China surely has high expectations that the KMT would return to power under Cheng’s leadership and contribute to “peaceful unification.”
That would save China from needing to use force, likely with catastrophic results, as Trump has said that Beijing would not take military action against Taiwan during his presidency because “the Chinese leaders know the consequences.”
China’s “one country, two systems” has proved a failure in Hong Kong. Its promise of autonomy has been replaced with a “patriots-only” rule system — meaning only people deemed loyal to the CCP can hold public office — and the 2020 National Security Law, ensuring Beijing’s control over the territory. The result is the rapid erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy, democracy, freedom and human rights.
Meanwhile, polls consistently show that Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” and “one China” principle.
However, Cheng and her team are apparently making efforts to meet China’s expectations. Aside from saying; “I am Chinese” and “I will make all Taiwanese proud to be Chinese,” Cheng said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “not a dictator,” a specious argument widely seen as making excuses for a possible invasion of Taiwan ordered by Xi.
Velina Tchakarova, a Vienna-based geopolitical strategist, warned of a “cognitive shift within parts of Taiwan’s political spectrum that fits precisely into China’s ‘death by a thousand cuts’ approach toward Taiwan.”
Cheng has objected to defense budget increases and sent KMT Vice Chairman Hsiao Hsu-tsen (蕭旭成) to meet with the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to set up a possible Cheng-Xi meeting. Hsiao told the Chinese side that the KMT firmly opposes Taiwanese independence and supports cross-strait unification.
China has found its “patriots” in Taiwan. Taiwanese must remain vigilant.
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