Taiwan’s economy would again see unprecedented opportunities if it unites with China, Beijing said yesterday, stepping up a campaign to persuade Taipei to accept its rule.
China has since late last year attempted to convince Taiwan of the benefits of "peaceful reunification," though Beijing has also refused to renounce the use of force against the nation.
Taiwan's economy would be "reinvigorated with new vitality," drawing on the advantages of China's huge market and Taiwan's own strengths in science, technology and talent, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) told a weekly news briefing in Beijing.
Photo: Reuters
"Peaceful reunification will inject greater certainty and growth potential into Taiwan's investment and business environment, representing an unprecedented opportunity and the greatest source of confidence for Taiwan's economic development," he added.
Taiwan is a major producer of the world's most advanced semiconductors, which are powering the global artificial intelligence megatrend. Its economy is booming, growing 8.68 percent last year, its fastest rate in 15 years, and is expected to expand 11.3 percent in the first quarter of this year.
"Rather than continuing to issue empty promises to Taiwan, the Chinese communists would be better served by first confronting the economic and social problems within mainland China itself," the Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement, pointing to issues such as high unemployment among young people.
Speaking to senior military officers in Taipei yesterday, President William Lai (賴清德) said that only by enhancing Taiwan's own defense capabilities can genuine peace be ensured.
"Unification packaged as peace will inevitably bring endless troubles to our nation," he said.
"At present, China is frequently conducting gray zone operations and military exercises in the waters surrounding the Taiwan Strait, while simultaneously employing a combination of military, legal, informational and psychological means, in an attempt to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the broader region," Lai said.
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Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
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