On Monday, the day before Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) departed on her visit to China, the party released a promotional video titled “Only with peace can we ‘lie flat’” to highlight its desire to have peace across the Taiwan Strait.
However, its use of the expression “lie flat” (tang ping, 躺平) drew sarcastic comments, with critics saying it sounded as if the party was “bowing down” to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Amid the controversy over the opposition parties blocking proposed defense budgets, Cheng departed for China after receiving an invitation from the CCP, with a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) a possibility. Cheng has repeatedly said she wanted to meet with the Chinese president since she was elected KMT chairwoman.
Although legislation restricts Taiwanese from making political deals with China, Cheng has trumpeted her visit as a “peace journey” on the basis of the so-called “1992 consensus.” The vast majority of Taiwanese have rejected the “consensus” due to its “one China” theme.
The KMT’s video — which was generated by artificial intelligence — showed young people lying under the sun, with the message that “peace makes it possible to lie flat.”
KMT officials said that “lying flat” reflects “the party’s unwavering commitment to peace.”
Ironically, “lying flat” is a also used in the context of silent protests by young people over the conditions they face, including workplace burnout and jobseeking frustration, as well as social injustice and pressure.
In China, the phrase has turned into a popular social movement called “Tangpingism,” describing a low-effort and minimal lifestyle spreading among young Chinese to express their disappointment with and resistance to the country’s declining economic environment and intense societal pressures. The KMT’s use of it to convey “a carefree and comfortable life” is in stark contrast to how it is commonly used, demonstrating either its ignorance of the mindset of young Chinese and social reality, or its intention to brainwash Taiwanese into “lying back” and not reacting to Beijing’s tactics to “unify Taiwan.”
Cheng’s promotion of the “1992 consensus” before and during her trip is another example of the KMT’s misperception and misinterpretation of Chinese policy.
Xi in a speech on the 40th anniversary of the “Message to Compatriots in Taiwan” — an open letter by the CCP first published in 1950 — made clear that at the core of the “consensus” is Beijing’s “one China principle.” That stance completely eliminates the KMT’s wishful thinking that its own interpretation of what constitutes “China” — not to mention the existence of the Republic of China — has a bearing on CCP policy.
Xi also vowed that China would apply the Hong Kong “one country, two systems” model in Taiwan and China has never renounced the use of force to “unify” Taiwan, highlighting his total disregard for Taiwan’s autonomy and freedom.
A look at history shows that negotiations between the KMT and the CCP during the Chinese Civil War involved the KMT falling into strategic traps in which “talks were used to prepare for war” (以談謀戰), leading to it losing battles and fleeing to Taiwan.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday urged the KMT to learn from its mistakes, citing the bitter lesson of the 1949 capture of what was then Beiping, now Beijing. Fu Zuoyi (傅作義), the KMT general in charge of its army in the city at the time, secretly signed a “peace agreement” to hand it over to the CCP without resistance.
Cho said that no Taiwanese would ever accept a “lying flat” model to counter China’s aggression.
Tibet and Xinjiang also signed peace agreements with Beijing in 1949 and in 1951 respectively, but neither escaped suppression by the Chinese military.
It is clear that the CCP has confined Cheng’s trip and her possible meeting with Xi tightly within the “one China” framework. Beijing’s invitation is an obvious “united front” operation, aimed at increasing the political divide in Taiwan, as well as sending a false message to the world that Taiwan is a domestic Chinese affair.
Taiwanese want peace, but will not surrender. Nor should it be achieved at the cost of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Since taking office, Xi has met with current, former or honorary KMT chairs nine times, but the CCP’s claims over Taiwan have never stoped, while its intimidation escalates, including the activities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army around Taiwan. Cheng and her party should learn that “lying flat” can never bring true peace across the Taiwan Strait.
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