Beijing must work with Taiwan toward “reunification” through a new mechanism of “Chinese-style” democracy that would limit the political arena to only a few political parties, former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) has said.
Hau, who delivered a keynote speech at the City University of Hong Kong on Friday, said that only when China abandons the threat of force against Taiwan and the two sides embrace “Chinese-style” democracy will the “Chinese dream” be accomplished, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday.
In recent years, Beijing has increasingly relied on forums in Hong Kong and China to further its “united front” work by inviting senior Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) members, retired Taiwanese generals and even a select number of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members, such as former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), to attend.
Photo: CNA
“The premise for democracy should be to stop the fighting between Chinese people [sic] and to end the era of political power that grows out of the barrel of a gun, which are key elements to realizing the ‘China dream,’” the Post quoted Hau as saying.
The 94-year-old said that examples of peaceful liberalization and democratization in Taiwan following the death of president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) in 1975 and during the Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) presidencies could serve as a model for China.
“The future development of cross-strait relations should stick to ‘no war, no [Taiwan] independence and gradual unification,’” Hau said.
Hau said that “Chinese-style” democracy would be an alternative to democracy as it is practiced in the West — and in Taiwan — where theoretically, if not in practice, there is no ceiling on the number of political parties.
“Taiwan started democratic reform to end one-party rule and lifted a press ban when the domestic economy was taking off in the 1980s,” Hau said, repeating the disputed belief that as they become wealthier, Chinese are likely to desire a relaxing of the political system.
Under “Chinese-style” democracy, the number of political parties would be limited to just a few.
“Only major parties with at least 20 percent of public popularity would qualify to nominate candidates,” Hau said, a proposal that, with Taiwan and China treated as a single polity, would almost certainly bring about the demise of both the DPP and the KMT, not to mention Taiwan’s smaller parties.
There is no evidence at this point that the Chinese Communist Party, which under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) has hardened its grip on Chinese society, would brook the presence of political competitors, especially parties with the ability to garner 20 percent of public support.
Hau caused a stir late last month when, addressing the “Witness Taiwan Democracy” forum organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, he denied that Taiwan was a sovereign nation and added that no democratic country — presumably a unified China — can accommodate two different democratic systems.
“When people on both sides of the Strait reach a consensus on their political system, unification will come to fruition naturally,” he said at the time.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS