The appointment of officials loyal to Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) top governing body indicates that Beijing might adopt more hardline policies on Taiwan, with deeper personal involvement by Xi, Taiwanese lawmakers said.
Xi, 69, on Sunday secured an unprecedented third term as CCP general secretary during the party’s National Congress, which also saw the appointment of four of his allies to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee.
One of the new members is Shanghai CCP Secretary Li Qiang (李強), who served as Xi’s chief of staff during Xi’s tenure as Zhejiang Province party chief.
Photo: Reuters
Li is expected to succeed reform-oriented Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) in March next year.
Taiwanese lawmakers described the appointments as a bad omen for cross-strait relations.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said the new lineup shows that “the CCP’s Central Committee has now become ‘Xi central.’”
“Over the next five years, China’s policies on Taiwan will be determined by Xi alone,” Kuo said, adding that Xi’s speech at the congress indicated that his policies are only to become “more hardline and coercive.”
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator William Tseng (曾銘宗) said the CCP has added anti-Taiwan independence language to its constitution, while packing its upper echelons with Xi loyalists.
The changes to the CCP constitution, which were passed on Saturday, commits the party to “resolutely opposing and deterring” Taiwanese independence and “resolutely implementing the policy of one country, two systems.”
The moves show that the CCP’s Taiwan policy would be personally guided by Xi, Tseng said.
The situation is “a little bit dangerous” for Taiwan, whose national security apparatus would have to “carefully evaluate its responses and make sure that it is well prepared,” he added.
Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) said the CCP used the congress to make its “red lines” even clearer, thus reducing the possibility of using ambiguity as a means to reduce cross-strait tensions.
New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that while the outcomes of Xi’s increased control over the CCP are still unclear, “Taiwan cannot let its guard down.”
For this reason, “the NPP has supported increasing the Ministry of National Defense budget, and reviewing issues related to military training and the length of conscription,” he said.
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