China is likely to use a version of its “one country, two systems” framework designed for Taiwan to legitimize use of force against the country, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Tai-san (邱太三) said.
Chiu was speaking at a meeting on Thursday, at which the council’s advisory committee discussed possible responses in the event that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sought to legitimize an invasion of Taiwan and mitigate any international response by invoking the framework.
The CCP first announced the Taiwan version of the framework in 2019, when it hoped to use the proposal as a basis for political negotiations with Taiwan, he said.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Liberty Times
In a report issued after the meeting, a researcher who asked to remain anonymous was cited as saying that the CCP has had to restructure its plans for the implementation of the Taiwan framework due to deteriorating US-China relations, the protests in Hong Kong and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Due to failures of the original “one country, two systems” framework designed for Hong Kong, China would redesign it for Taiwan, putting more emphasis on “one country,” while ensuring effective central control over the “two systems” to avoid social division, the researcher said.
The CCP would “localize” Taiwan in its laws, referring to it as a region of China, and would “internalize” cross-strait relations, they said, adding that the government should devise response measures.
Some committee members cited in the report said they believed that China had switched gears regarding Taiwan, because of the sanctions placed on Russia after it invaded Ukraine.
Fearing similar sanctions, China would attempt to legitimize its actions toward Taiwan using its laws, they said.
Recently, China’s “united front” efforts have focused on blocking any representation of Taiwan as an independent country internationally, as well as manipulating Taiwanese into working as collaborators, they said.
The CCP is likely to reiterate Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) “five points” on Taiwan at the 20th National Congress to be held later this year, which includes the Taiwan framework, they said.
Xi first introduced the five points in January 2019 when he said China would promote “peaceful unification” with Taiwan that “would fully respect Taiwanese compatriots’ way of life and guarantee their properties, religious beliefs and legitimate rights.”
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