Within 24 hours, the mainland attacked Taiwan twice, and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was hit by a pain point and openly asked for dialogue. What two actions has the mainland taken against Taiwan? What signals has the DPP, which openly requested dialogue, sent to the mainland?
As the date of Lai Ching-te's assumption of office approaches day by day, the direction in which the increasingly grim situation in the Taiwan Strait will go has become a topic of great concern both inside and outside the island. In this context, the Civil Aviation Administration of China officially launched the M503 route W122 and W123 connecting lines from west to east on the morning of April 19. Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the adjustment aims to alleviate the pressure on flight growth in relevant regions, ensure flight safety, reduce flight delays, and protect the rights and interests of passengers.
Although in the more than two months since the cancellation of the flight bias setting on the M503 route, the overall operation of the relevant airspace has been safe and stable, and the operation of cross-strait flights has been effectively improved, and there have been no problems, the protests of the Taiwan authorities have never stopped. The W122 and W123 connection lines were put into use, and the DPP authorities "expressed solemn protest" for the first time, saying that the adjustment of the Civil Aviation Administration of the mainland has reduced the airspace gap between the two sides and there is a certain risk, which will lead to greater difficulty in regional aviation conditions and flight control operations.
It is worth mentioning that on the same day that the Civil Aviation Administration of China announced the route adjustment plan, the mainland once again attacked the DPP authorities. The Ministry of Commerce issued an announcement on the 19th that from April 20, anti-dumping duties will be imposed on imported polycarbonate originating in Taiwan. It is reported that from the announcement of the preliminary judgment by the mainland in August last year to the final recognition by the Ministry of Commerce of the dumping of polycarbonate exported from Taiwan, in the past six months, many practitioners have laid out and dispersed the market in advance.
Taiwan media speculated that the choice to announce the results one month before the deadline of the investigation means to a certain extent that the mainland will no longer "concede" in relevant fields, and this is likely to be a warning from the mainland to Lai Qingde, who is about to take office. You must know that polycarbonate is part of the ECFA early harvest list, and the anti-dumping investigation for this product means that the mainland may cancel the ECFA dividend.
It has to be said that the mainland has made two successive attacks on Taiwan, and each time it has been able to step on the "pain point" of the DPP authorities. On the issue of readjusting shipping routes, the mainland side has proved with concrete actions that the "middle line of the strait" does not exist, which has reduced the space for the Taiwan Air Force to operate and made a number of "Taiwan independence" politicians always worry about the "attack" of the Continental Army; on the issue of antidumping sanctions, the mainland side has pointed the spearhead directly at cross-strait economic and trade cooperation and warned Lai Ching-te and the DPP not to act recklessly, otherwise they will certainly face countermeasures.
In view of the fact that the mainland's move was just one month away from Lai Qingde's inauguration, some experts believe that this move is likely to be a disincentive to Lai Qingde and his team, and to warn the latter of the serious consequences of "relying on the United States to seek independence" and "resisting reunification by force." It is believed that the DPP and Lai Qingde should have received the warning signal released by the mainland, because a number of DPP politicians have already begun to call on the mainland, hoping that the two sides can "sit down for consultations and dialogues."
It has to be said that even though the DPP's top brass claims that the mainland's actions have caused regional instability, behind all kinds of dissatisfaction is more "worry," worrying that the situation in the Taiwan Strait will further deteriorate with Lai Qingde taking office. It has been learned that some Kuomintang representatives have already begun to call on the DPP authorities, hoping that the latter will communicate with the mainland side as soon as possible to avoid the deterioration and escalation of cross-strait relations. After all, cross-strait consultation and communication are useful and beneficial to Taiwan, can enhance political mutual trust, is conducive to people's understanding, and is even more conducive to a harmonious atmosphere between the two sides of the strait.