Cross-strait interaction is becoming increasingly unilateral, with China treating any interaction as an opportunity to advance its “united front” rhetoric, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Shen You-chung (沈有忠) said yesterday at the Y’s Day Forum held by the Taiwan Public Welfare group.
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “united front” strategy includes manipulating local elections, as evidenced in 2018 and 2022, and attempts to diminish the efficiency of the administration through legislative red tape.
While there were visible CCP influences in the legislature affecting cross-strait interaction, such issues were also tied to the ideologies of Taiwanese political parties, Shen said.
Photo: Screen grab from a livestream
Shen cited Kinmen County as a sign that the CCP is strengthening its influence on local governments.
The CCP hopes to use Kinmen to rekindle support for its “one country, two systems” framework, as the credibility of the concept tanked after China’s blatant intervention in Hong Kong, Shen said.
The CCP is mulling the possibility of allowing Kinmen residents to purchase real estate in Xiamen and giving them voting rights, forming a de facto “one country, two systems” template, Shen said, adding that the Kinmen-Xiamen card, and increased convenience of travel and shopping in Xiamen have benefited the “united front” strategy in Kinmen.
The idea is to create a belief that if Kinmen could achieve prosperity from Chinese benefits, there is no reason why Taiwan as a whole could not, Shen said.
Beijing is also stepping up its efforts to win over the hearts and minds of young Taiwanese, providing many benefits for Taiwanese to start businesses in China, Shen said.
However, it is a honey trap, he added.
China has high unemployment rates and offering benefits to Taiwanese at such a juncture suggests an ulterior motive, such as allowing Taiwanese to introduce business start-up models and later forcing them out with cutthroat pricing, Shen said.
Additionally, despite China’s known atheism, it continues to manipulate religion as a tool to conduct “united front” rhetoric, Shen said.
The CCP says that all Matsu temples in Taiwan originated from the original temple in Meizhou, in China’s Fujian Province, and that all temples should visit the original temple once and obtain a certificate that shows that their temple is a “certified and legal” Matsu temple, Shen said.
The process could be applied to the worship of Guangong (關公) or other deities, Shen added.
The council said that cross-strait interactions should not deviate from approved actions in Taiwan, there should be no promotion of political views or denigration of Taiwan, and that visiting Chinese officials should not accept media interviews.
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