It has now been two years since China passed its "Anti-Secession" Law. It is worth taking a look back to investigate whether cross-strait relations during that time have moved in the direction of positive development, or if China and Taiwan are gradually drifting further apart.
In a recent survey, Taiwan Thinktank found that 73.9 percent of Taiwanese believe that China's enactment of the law constitutes a hostile intent toward Taiwan's government and people. In addition, 80 percent believe the law does not serve the interests of Taiwanese.
In addition to being designed to satisfy China's internal pressures and needs, the law was intended to give China the upper hand in cross-strait relations. Beijing officials hoped the law would divide the Taiwanese population, strengthen the legitimacy of military action, make its policies toward Taiwan appear more palatable and weaken Taiwan's position.
However, judging by the results of the survey, China not only failed to achieve those goals but even engendered the opposite by hardening cross-strait opposition.
The survey shows that 80 percent of Taiwanese do not accept the view that Taiwan must necessarily unify with China, as the law stipulates. In addition, 67 percent do not approve of China's strategy of only having contacts with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) while snubbing the nation's elected government.
Beijing's attempt to use legalese to divide Taiwanese has had the opposite effect of consolidating opposition to Beijing's views. And in terms of lending legitimacy to the use of force against Taiwan, 90 percent of respondents do not agree with the law's advocacy of "non-peaceful means" to resolve the cross-strait issue.
The survey shows that almost 79 percent of Taiwanese believe their country's future should be decided by the Taiwanese themselves, whereas only 15 percent advocate a decision in conjunction with the Chinese.
Eighty-two percent, meanwhile, believe that China has no right to interfere in Taiwan's internal affairs. Furthermore, an increasing number of Taiwanese -- almost 77 percent -- approve joining the UN under the name Taiwan.
This survey proves that Beijing's policy of winning the hearts and minds is failing.
Lo Chih-cheng is the director of the political science department at Soochow University.
Translated by Marc Langer
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of