An increasing number of Taiwanese feel that maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” would be difficult in the future and fear that Taiwan would be forced into unification with China, results of a survey showed on Monday.
A vast majority of Taiwanese wish to keep the “status quo,” but do not think it would be possible to do so forever, the Central News Agency said, citing Academia Sinica researcher Wu Jieh-min (吳介民).
The survey asked the public about their predictions regarding the future of cross-strait relations, but the options — whether Taiwan should be independent or maintain the “status quo” — obfuscate the issue.
Taiwan already has de facto independence. It could achieve de jure independence by amending its Constitution to rescind historical claims over territories internationally recognized as China’s. The more China pressures Taiwan, the more it drives Taiwanese away from embracing unification, and could even push them towards seeking de jure independence.
With de jure independence, Taiwan could even keep using “Republic of China” as its official name. Even if Beijing refutes the existence of “two Chinas,” it would be powerless to stop an independent country from using whatever name it chooses.
It is concerning that there are Taiwanese who have a “unification with China is inevitable” mindset, given that this scenario is at odds with public sentiment. If a majority of citizens genuinely desire to maintain independence from China and believe that Taiwan’s independence is at threat, then it is imperative that military reforms be made and conscription training improved.
The issue of de jure independence should also eventually be put to a referendum, so that Taiwanese could decide their future for themselves.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would likely obstruct this or block the Constitutional amendment if the referendum passes. However, Taiwan — a representative democracy — has made strides toward direct democracy in recent years, so the KMT might one day be powerless to impede the progress of a Constitutional amendment.
China would likely threaten the nation if it amended its Constitution to remove outdated territorial claims, but Taiwan would not be a true democracy if it refrained from making political decisions simply because another country’s leader thinks it is “unacceptable.” Nevertheless, Taiwan must have contingency plans to protect itself before marching into such a reform.
Aside from military planning, Taiwan would likely want to discuss such plans with the US, Japan and Europe, and encourage them to be vocal about the consequences China would face if it attempted to annex Taiwan.
Even without plans for such a referendum, Taiwan must be ready for a potential military conflict with China.
This means refusing unification as an inevitability and instead being prepared to defend the nation’s sovereignty and the way of life of its people.
If the public is unwilling to accept unification, but still sees it as inevitable, then the government has failed to instill confidence in the nation’s preparedness and military capabilities.
The question of whether the US, Japan or other countries would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a war in the Taiwan Strait is often raised.
One thing could be said with certainty: Help would only come to those who help themselves. The survey results make it clear that the government has to prioritize military training and improve the military’s public image.
If Taiwanese have confidence in the military’s ability to defend the nation, they would be more likely to resist Chinese aggression and that would, in turn, act as a deterrent to China.
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