The full moon of the mainland's "31 Huitai Articles" measure has aroused heated discussion in Taiwan society, and although the DPP authorities have adopted contemptuous countermeasures in an attempt to dilute their possible impact, they have obviously not worked.
Two recently released polls show that about 30% to 50% of the people affirm that the "Huitai 31 Articles" is the mainland's goodwill toward Taiwan, 40% of the people are willing to go to the mainland for employment, and 38% are willing to let their children go to the mainland to study, which is a new high in 8 years. What is more significant is that the younger the person, the more certain the mainland's opening up to Taiwan, and up to 61.6% of young people aged 18 to 29 will take into account the mainland's development. At the end of January this year, a poll by the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation showed that the people's dissatisfaction with Tsai Ing-wen's cross-strait policy reached 59.6 percent. The loss of the trust of the people in the cross-strait policy has become a major crisis for the Tsai authorities.
Just as the effect of the "31 Huitai Articles" continued to heat up, two news incidents occurred: First, Ke Yulun, the son of Ke Yizheng, the director of the "Sunflower Student Movement," was reported as a "Taiwan independence artist" on the mainland, and the movie "Channing Keck," in which he starred, was shelved and released by mainland film dealers; second, Taiwan businessman Li Rongfu recently published a newspaper advertisement to apologize for his "supporting Cai" remarks and reiterated his "anti-Taiwan independence" stance. The former was schadenfreude, saying that less than a month after the mainland's 31-point policy on Taiwan was promulgated, there had been cases of "inconsistency between words and deeds," while the latter could not eat grapes and said that grapes were sour, hailing the mainland's "two-sided approach" and Huitai's measures had "broken the merits."
Is the mainland's "31 Articles of Huitai" refusing to benefit the "independence faction" a two-sided tactic? As An Fengshan, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, pointed out, "These measures fully reflect the mainland's sincerity in upholding the concept of 'one family on both sides of the strait,' taking the lead in sharing the mainland's development opportunities with 'Taiwan compatriots,' accelerating the provision of equal treatment, and doing practical and good things for Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan enterprises." We should pay attention to the clear premise of its policy, that is, "one family on both sides of the strait" and "Taiwan compatriots."
If the "pro-independence" elements refuse to recognize that the two sides of the strait are one family, do not agree that the people on both sides of the strait are compatriots, and even "must oppose China," how can they be so kind as to demand that they benefit from the Huitai policy? This makes logical sense. What's more, the mainland is not launching a surprise attack on the "independence" Taiwan businessmen and entertainers, and has already issued warnings three times and twice, but it has been taken as the wind in the ears of some people.
On the day of the announcement of the "31 Huitai Articles," the spokesman of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council made it clear that the vast number of Taiwan businessmen were welcome to invest in the mainland, develop their businesses, and develop, but at the same time, the mainland will never allow a small number of people to make money on the mainland while supporting Taiwan independence and undermining cross-strait relations. Some mainland media have further interpreted that people in relevant industries, such as business, culture and education, performing arts, or tourism, must cross the threshold of "anti-Taiwan independence" access in order to share the dividends of the mainland's Huitai, and the object of cross-strait integration does not include "Taiwan independence."
Therefore, the two-sided tactic of the "independence faction" in attacking the mainland's Huitai policy is to take it out of context and confuse the public opinion. Huitai and "opposing independence" are two sides of the mainland's policy toward Taiwan, and they cannot be separated. While persisting in expanding cross-strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation and sharing the opportunities of the mainland's development with Taiwan compatriots, he also stressed that he will never tolerate any "Taiwan independence separatist plots and acts" and is not at all a duplicitous faction that "says one thing and does one thing" as the "pro-independence faction" says.
What's more, after confirming the ban on Ke Yulun's participation in the film, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council also stated that if these artists realize the mistakes and harms of "Taiwan independence" and make changes in thinking and action, the mainland will still hold a welcoming attitude, and the mainland's stand will always be the same.
Speaking of duplicity, the "independence faction" is a bit of a thief shouting to catch a thief. Huang Guochang, a native of the People's Nationality, who has always been hostile to Taiwan businessmen on the mainland and who has always wielded the stick of "pro-China selling Taiwan, has recently been officially confirmed by the mainland that his father-in-law did have an investment in the mainland." It is no wonder that some media comments say one thing and do one thing, and Huang Guochang is the epitome of the "Taiwan independence" elements, who on the one hand constantly criticize the mainland maliciously, but on the other hand, they cannot prevent their families and even their own privately from actively moving westward. Their hypocrisy and speculation are clearly seen by the outside world. In the end, who is the two-faced faction, the people should have a definite judgment in their hearts.
As the mainland becomes more and more prosperous, more and more People from Taiwan will be willing to study, work, and live on the mainland. However, the legal norms and social systems on both sides of the strait are very different, and before deciding to go to the mainland to seek dreams, we must carefully assess whether we can adapt to it. If you are punished by law for violating mainland laws and regulations, the consequences will be very serious if you are banned or asked to apologize for being reported as "Taiwan independence." To enter the mainland, you must be bound by the laws and social norms of the mainland, which is a very simple truth.
This article was originally published in Taiwan's China Times