Text | Puffs on the third floor
Edit | Puffs on the third floor
In the face of the increasingly complicated situation in the Taiwan Strait, quite a number of experts and scholars on cross-strait affairs have begun to actively explore various possible paths for the mainland to achieve peaceful reunification of Taiwan.
Among them, former retired colonel Huang Zhenghui of the "Taiwan Navy" recently put forward the "two conditions" plan for peaceful reunification, which has aroused widespread concern.
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Taiwan independence is not desirable, and the two sides of the strait must be reunified
Huang Zhenghui believes that the mainland's national strength is becoming stronger and stronger, and it will eventually achieve the grand goal of the complete reunification of the motherland. However, for the broad masses of people in Taiwan, being involved in the war is undoubtedly the greatest suffering.
Therefore, achieving peaceful reunification under certain conditions is crucial to safeguarding the well-being of the Taiwan people. These two conditions are that Taiwan can temporarily retain its existing political system and military establishment after reunification.
Huang Zhenghui pointed out that the mainland does have sufficient strength to adopt non-peaceful means to resolve the Taiwan issue, but the liberation of Taiwan by force will also cost both sides a certain price.
Not to mention that today's international situation is complicated, and external forces such as the United States and Japan are very likely to intervene, which will undoubtedly bring unpredictable losses to both sides.
Therefore, achieving conditional peaceful reunification on the basis of compromises and concessions from all parties remains the safest and most feasible way out.
In fact, as early as the 80s of the 20th century, when cross-strait relations were at their most relaxed, the central leaders made it clear that as long as Taiwan returned to the motherland.
The mainland side will respect the reality and the current system there, and may also temporarily retain Taiwan's existing autonomous authority.
It's just that time has passed, and with the rampant "Taiwan independence" forces on the island, this proposition has rarely been raised by the Taiwan side.
However, Huang Zhenghui's renewed appeal undoubtedly brings new opportunities for the two sides of the strait to continue to take pragmatic measures on peaceful reunification.
Of course, compared with more than 30 years ago, it is more difficult for the mainland to accept the above conditions in its entirety. But these concessions are not out of reach compared to the enormous loss of life and property from a war that could break out at any time.
The key is for both sides to uphold rationality and patience, continue to take the lead in peaceful negotiations, and tolerate differences and misunderstandings to the greatest extent.
Looking ahead, the situation in the Taiwan Strait is still not optimistic, and turmoil still exists. However, the dawn of peaceful reunification has also illuminated the way ahead, and as long as there is hope and courage, there will be a bright future.
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The Japanese media reporter was anxious and began to babble
Akio Yaita, a Japanese correspondent in Taiwan, strongly criticized Taiwan scholar Huang Zhenghui's idea of peaceful cross-strait reunification in a program the other day, saying that this proposition was naïve and unrealistic.
It completely ignores the possibility of the mainland's lack of credibility, and cites the cases of Tibet and Hong Kong, claiming that both places have suffered infiltration and destruction after their return to the mainland.
This remark is full of strong prejudice and suspicion of the mainland, which may not only exacerbate the hatred between the two sides of the strait, but also run counter to the current trend of peaceful development of cross-strait relations.
In fact, Huang Zhenghui's views also have a certain market in Taiwan, and many Taiwanese people believe that there are fundamental historical and cultural ties between the two sides of the strait, and that efforts should be made to resolve differences through dialogue and achieve eventual peaceful reunification.
Although Huang Zhenghui's proposal has a certain idealization tendency, it is still quite pragmatic on the whole, satisfying the mainland's demand for reunification and safeguarding Taiwan's right to autonomy, which can be said to be a win-win situation for both sides of the strait.
However, Akio Yaban, who stands completely against reunification, uses strongly biased language to negate this proposition, which seems to be aimed at undermining the foundation of mutual trust between the two sides of the strait.
As a Japanese media person, Akio Yaban's position on cross-strait relations is obviously deliberately oversimplified.
He completely defined cross-strait relations as a relationship between threatened and threatened, and made full use of the doubts about the mainland on the island of Taiwan to exaggerate the "China threat theory," while completely ignoring the historical fact that the people on both sides of the strait are flesh and blood compatriots and blood is thicker than water.
He arbitrarily cited the examples of Tibet and Hong Kong, but completely ignored the differences in historical context and international status between the two places and Taiwan.
Such remarks that incite hatred and create separatism run counter to the current trend of relaxation and development of cross-strait relations.
After all, the mainland has openly stated on many occasions that it hopes to hold rational and pragmatic consultations with the Taiwan side under the principle of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems," which is also the correct way to achieve national reunification.
The people on both sides of the strait are compatriots of the Chinese nation, and only through mutual understanding and seeking common ground while reserving differences can we resolve differences left over from history and put cross-strait relations on the road of peaceful development.
Therefore, rationality rather than incitement to emotions, and negotiation rather than confrontation are the only way to resolve the cross-strait issue.
As an important neighbor of Taiwan, Japanese journalists should abandon prejudice, view cross-strait relations with a rational and objective attitude, and spread positive energy, instead of overstepping their way and interfering.
Good cross-strait relations will not only benefit peace in the Taiwan Strait, but will also bring major opportunities for the economic and social development of East Asia.
We hope that our friends in Japan will fully recognize this and promote regional peace and development in a responsible manner.
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Japan used the Taiwan issue to cover up its economic recession and frantically expand its military
Recently, the Japanese government has frequently used the so-called "China threat theory" and "tension in Taiwan" to aggressively increase military spending and expand armaments.
The real purpose behind this is to cover up the fact that Japan's economy continues to be sluggish and create panic about the "China threat" theory among the domestic people in order to win support for the increase in military spending.
In fact, Japan's economy has been facing recession for the past 30 years, with slowing GDP growth and sluggish per capita income growth.
In 2021, Japan's GDP remained stagnant at $5 trillion, barely up from 30 years ago, and its per capita GDP was only $40,000, ranking 20th in the Asia-Pacific region.
Since 2022, the yen exchange rate has depreciated sharply, Japan's trade deficit has remained high, inflation is serious, and the economic situation is worrying.
In the face of severe economic difficulties, the Japanese government is determined to increase military spending to more than 2% of GDP by 2027, about 80.3 billion US dollars, and buy warships and other weapons and equipment.
In order to raise military expenses, the Japanese government even made an exception and decided to issue construction bonds to purchase warships of the Self-Defense Forces. This move not only increases the financial burden on the government, but also increases the debt service pressure of the next generation.
This is seriously inconsistent with the current situation of the Japanese economy, and is bound to bury hidden dangers to Japan's future fiscal stability and economic development.
In fact, Japan's behavior has no precedent in the world. In general, countries rarely use long-term debt to buy military equipment because weapons and equipment have a high consumption and scrapping rate.
This practice of the Japanese government is regarded by many Japanese people as "laying the seeds for future generations." As a result, Kishida's government approval rating fell below 25%.
It can be seen that Japan's round of military expansion is not out of the need to guard against external threats, but mainly uses the external "China threat theory" to divert domestic attention and temporarily cover up the fact that its economy continues to decline.
However, excessive reliance on military spending to stimulate economic growth will not only fail to fundamentally solve the problem, but may repeat the mistakes of "excessive force" during World War II, and eventually drag down Japan's economy.
Successive postwar Japanese governments were well aware of this and never used construction bonds to increase military spending. The Kishida administration's move was criticized as naïve and reckless, completely ignoring the lessons of history.
In addition, the root cause of Japan's long-term economic downturn is its aging population, weak productivity growth, and prominent structural problems.
Spending on military expansion alone will not boost the economy, but may trigger inflation and ultimately make life more difficult for ordinary Japanese.
Some analysts pointed out that the Japanese government's military expansion is more the result of the United States' instigation.
In order to curb China's development, the United States did not hesitate to sacrifice Japan's economic interests and forced it to buy large quantities of American weapons. If Japan is not too involved, it may be used by the United States and ultimately harm its own interests.
It is foreseeable that if Japan continues to be obsessed and frantically expand its arms and purchase weapons, it will not only fail to boost the economy, but will lead to financial collapse due to excessive military expenditure.
The Japanese people need to be wary of the government's careless move and demand that the government focus on developing the economy and improving people's livelihood, rather than blindly obeying the orders of the United States and taking the wrong path of confrontation with China.
Japan's current arms spree is nothing more than a pre-collapse frenzy that will only accelerate its decline.
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Tsai Ing-wen's "defensive" layout
Recently, Tsai Ing-wen participated in the defense industry exhibition in Taipei, and a series of moves attracted attention from the outside world.
At the exhibition, Tsai Ing-wen visited various military equipment with great interest, and personally picked up a rifle for "aiming", and the media carried out large-scale follow-up reports throughout the process.
Tsai's behavior was criticized by one commentator as "all the people are soldiers", fearing that it would make the situation in Taiwan more chaotic.
After Tsai Ing-wen came to power, she accelerated Taiwan's military layout. She amended the law to bring the media under the control of the party and government, and controlled more than 90% of media resources.
Tsai Ing-wen also continued and strengthened the DPP's team of online commentators, with strong ability to guide online public opinion. On the judicial front, Tsai's government has also used legal tools to suppress outliers.
Some commentators have received court summonses for publicly criticizing Ms. Tsai. Triad forces also survived Tsai's tenure.
It is precisely because of the use of the media to guide public opinion and suppress others that Tsai Ing-wen has been able to gain a considerable degree of support in Taiwan and be re-elected as "president".
But this method also obscures the public's view, leaving Taiwan in a situation of sluggish development. Tsai's "posing" at the exhibition is considered irresponsible for Taiwan's current situation.
At the exhibition, Tsai Ing-wen may be able to pretend to be "defensive", but the real defense is still done by strawberry soldiers.
Military spending is constantly increasing and armaments are frequently purchased, but whether these guns and cannons can safeguard the security and interests of the Taiwan people remains to be discussed. More people worry that Ms. Tsai is leading Taiwan to the brink of military adventure.
At this moment, what Taiwan urgently needs is not a political show that gives people a sense of military threat, but the joint efforts of all walks of life to resolve differences and seek development.
End
Cross-strait relations are complex and sensitive, and the road to reunification is arduous and long. We must maintain rationality and wisdom, seek common ground while reserving differences, mutual respect, win-win cooperation, gradually enhance mutual trust, and ultimately achieve peaceful reunification in the overall situation of peaceful development.
The key lies in putting the people first and allowing the broad masses of the people to gain tangible benefits from reunification. Reunification cannot be shouted every day, still less at the expense of the people.
The final settlement of the Taiwan issue depends on the wisdom and courage of the Taiwan compatriots. Let us learn from history and open up a bright future for cross-strait relations.