Beijing is hastening efforts to revise its “one country, two systems” framework as part of a plan to legitimize an invasion of Taiwan, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has presided over the transformation of the scheme from a proposal for unification with Taiwan to a phased operational plan, academics wrote in the report.
The changes are emblematic of a policy shift within Beijing toward what its leaders call “Taiwan work for the new epoch,” an agenda the newly appointed deputy leader of the Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs Wang Huning (王滬寧) is to facilitate, the report said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
The revised “one country, two systems” scheme includes plans to establish a platform for cross-strait negotiations that would lay the groundwork for the post-unification administration and governance of Taiwan, it said.
A system for negotiations would bolster China’s legitimacy by framing its rule over Taiwan as an arrangement created through a democratic process, it said.
Beijing is also pursuing a policy to shape public opinion against Taiwanese independence, while promoting support for negotiations and gradual unification, with the aim of weakening Taiwan’s internal opposition to China, it said.
The informational efforts are intended to bolster pro-Beijing leaders and factions within Taiwan that could become partners in negotiations, the report said.
China’s likely goal in creating a road map to “unification” is to build legitimacy for an armed invasion, pre-empt international support for Taiwan and break the will of Taiwanese to resist, it said.
Beijing could be considering incorporating a Taiwan policy into its framework of national security laws, which would enable China to exercise extra-territorial jurisdiction under the guise of promoting regional peace and stability, it said.
Taipei should urgently make military preparations, but refrain from seeking conflict or showing fear of war, the report said, adding that the government should seek to reclaim control over the cross-strait narrative to increase bargaining power in negotiations.
Taiwan should maintain its close relationships with Japan and the US, continue efforts to underscore the importance of deterring war in the Taiwan Strait to the international community and emphasize the nation’s free and democratic values, it said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS