The much-anticipated meeting between Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) and his Chinese counterpart, Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍), took place in Nanjing, China, on Tuesday. This meeting is important to the development of cross-strait relations for a number of reasons.
China made some concessions to make Taiwanese officials willing to visit, and Zhang referred to Wang as “Minister Wang.” Obviously, after talking about power and following last year’s APEC meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has new ideas about Beijing’s policy toward further political and substantial cross-strait relations.
Still, on the whole, China remains very careful when it comes to Wang’s title, which shows how China currently views cross-strait political relations. The only time the title “minister” was used to refer to Wang was during the meeting with Zhang. In reports, Wang was still referred to as the “responsible official of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council” in China’s Chinese-language reports and as “Taiwan’s mainland affairs chief” in its English-language coverage.
Also worthy of note is that Zhang and the Chinese media completely avoided the use of the term “Mainland Affairs Council under the Executive Yuan.” This shows that China was merely trying to create an atmosphere beneficial to getting leaders from the two sides to meet and that China has not yet decided to accept the Republic of China’s (ROC) sovereignty and right to govern, to avoid a situation in which “two Chinas” or “one China, two governments” occurs.
Furthermore, observers were left with the feeling that little was achieved at the meeting. Wang and Zhang agreed to give Taiwanese students studying in China access to Chinese medical insurance, but failed to reach agreement on humanitarian visitation rights for Taiwanese in China and Taiwan’s participation in Asian regional economic groups, which shows that the two sides still differ greatly when it comes to more sensitive and important issues. China still restricts the ability of Taiwanese organizations in China to make humanitarian visits to Taiwanese citizens in Chinese prisons, saying there are additional conditions that need to be negotiated.
However, it can be said that China is extremely willing to see the exchange of liaison offices as soon as possible to further cross-strait relations. As for Taiwan’s participation in regional economic groups, China said it hopes cross-strait trade relations will be improved first, while at the same time building mutual dependency, before allowing Taiwan to participate in regional economic organizations in an effort to avoid distancing the two sides from each other.
Neither Wang nor Zhang commented on a meeting between President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Xi during their post-meeting press conferences — most likely because conditions are not yet ripe and because of the overall sensitivity of the issue.
The Wang-Zhang meeting was mostly symbolic, but does demonstrate a real improvement in cross-strait relations facilitated by the Ma administration since it came into office in 2008. Since the leaders of both sides were willing to come up with a mechanism for the normalization of meetings, this suggests a brighter outlook for development of cross-strait relations. Although the first Wang-Zhang meeting did not see a lot of substantial results, with a mechanism like this in place, many cross-strait issues will be easier to discuss and solve in the future.
Wang Kao-cheng is a professor in the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University.
Translated by Drew Cameron
It is almost three years since Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a friendship with “no limits” — weeks before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, they have retreated from such rhetorical enthusiasm. The “no limits” language was quickly dumped, probably at Beijing’s behest. When Putin visited China in May last year, he said that he and his counterpart were “as close as brothers.” Xi more coolly called the Russian president “a good friend and a good neighbor.” China has conspicuously not reciprocated Putin’s description of it as an ally. Yet the partnership
The ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu (孫子) said “know yourself and know your enemy and you will win a hundred battles.” Applied in our times, Taiwanese should know themselves and know the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so that Taiwan will win a hundred battles and hopefully, deter the CCP. Taiwanese receive information daily about the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) threat from the Ministry of National Defense and news sources. One area that needs better understanding is which forces would the People’s Republic of China (PRC) use to impose martial law and what would be the consequences for living under PRC
Although former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo — known for being the most pro-Taiwan official to hold the post — is not in the second administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, he has maintained close ties with the former president and involved himself in think tank activities, giving him firsthand knowledge of the US’ national strategy. On Monday, Pompeo visited Taiwan for the fourth time, attending a Formosa Republican Association’s forum titled “Towards Permanent World Peace: The Shared Mission of the US and Taiwan.” At the event, he reaffirmed his belief in Taiwan’s democracy, liberty, human rights and independence, highlighting a
The US Department of Defense recently released this year’s “Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China.” This annual report provides a comprehensive overview of China’s military capabilities, strategic objectives and evolving global ambitions. Taiwan features prominently in this year’s report, as capturing the nation remains central to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” a goal he has set for 2049. The report underscores Taiwan’s critical role in China’s long-term strategy, highlighting its significance as a geopolitical flashpoint and a key target in China’s quest to assert dominance
RSS