Beijing is exerting “immense pressure” on President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration to move toward cross-strait political dialogue that will lead to a peace agreement and unification, a former top Taiwanese official has warned.
“Ma has so far stuck to a formula of ‘economics first, politics later,’ limiting cross-strait interaction to economic relations,” former National Security Council secretary-general Parris Chang (張旭成) said.
However, Beijing will not take no for an answer and has been doing what it can to “pressure, push and prod” Ma’s regime to change course, he said.
In a paper published by the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation, Chang — a professor emeritus of political science at Pennsylvania State University — said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is “pushing harder and faster” to implement Beijing’s policy agenda in Taiwan.
Chang says that during Ma’s second term in office, China’s efforts to bring Taiwan further into the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) orbit have backfired —– resulting in a weakened presidency “that cannot deliver the mainland’s goals.”
As a result, Beijing appears to be looking ahead to the next two elections “trying to make as much progress as possible before Ma leaves office while simultaneously trying to establish ties with possible successors,” Chang said.
Chang says that former Chinese president Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) confided to his inner circles that it was easier and less expensive to “buy” Taiwan than to “conquer it through military means.”
“Beijing’s implementation of this strategy has employed both economic means and a united-front operation to make inroads among corporate leaders, ruling and opposition parties, the media and the public,” Chang said. “But Beijing does not offer a free lunch — Chinese leaders’ ultimate goal is unification.”
Beijing has utilized economic means to “reach out to and co-opt Taiwan’s business elite” and as a result “most of the business elite have become staunch supporters of cross-strait rapprochement.”
Chang said that Xi has placed Ma in a difficult position, repeatedly forcing him to choose between the demands of Beijing and those of Taiwanese.
“His attempts to navigate these demands have contributed to declining poll numbers and a widespread perception that he is a lame-duck president,” Chang said.
From Beijing’s perspective, the service trade agreement is also intended to perform “vital political and united-front functions in Taiwan.”
“As shown by the experience of Hong Kong,” the pact will provide legal cover for China’s agents to live and work in Taiwan, Chang said.
“Through Chinese enterprises and shops, China’s operatives will be able to use the pact to continue to build up resources and capabilities to influence Taiwan’s political process and strive for peaceful unification,” he said.
With the seven-in-one elections to be held at the end of the year and the presidential and legislative elections in 2016, many Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) leaders — and Beijing — are apprehensive that voters could reject KMT candidates this year and vote the KMT out of government in 2016, Chang said.
“Beijing has much at stake and appears to be seeking alternatives to the Ma government,” he added.
Chang said Beijing “is sure” to try to intervene and try to influence the outcome of Taipei’s mayoral election this year and the presidential and legislative elections in 2016.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS