Preface
At present, Taiwan is at a critical juncture of a change of leadership, and Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is about to assume the post of new Taiwan leader in two days, and he, who has always appeared in front of the public as a "Taiwan independence" element, has unexpectedly sent a rare signal of peace to the mainland.
Under his example, there are also many political parties in Taiwan that have made overtures to the mainland, but why did Lai Ching-te, who had been "Taiwan independent" for many years, suddenly change? Does he really want peace?
Rare transformations
In less than two days, Lai Qingde will take up the post of leader in Taiwan, and at such a critical moment, many pairs of eyes at home and abroad are staring at him.
Since Lai Qingde first came into contact with politics, he has always adhered to the "Taiwan independence" style.
In the course of his election campaign in the past, he also consistently advocated the idea of "Taiwan independence" and said that he was a "Taiwan independence worker," and seemed to regard the matter of "Taiwan independence" as his election advantage.
Lai Qingde has always been a supporter of "Taiwan independence" in the political arena all these years, and he and the previous leader Tsai Ing-wen belong to the Democratic Progressive Party.
In the past few years, Taiwan's political direction has always been biased toward the United States, hoping that the United States can help it "become independent." That is to say, almost all members of the Democratic Progressive Party are biased toward "Taiwan independence."
As the new leader and a person who is extremely supportive of "Taiwan independence," Lai Ching-te suddenly proposed to the mainland that he should carry out cross-strait dialogue, which is as outrageous as the sun coming out of the west.
Of course, this is not the first time such an outrageous thing has happened, and last year Lai Qingde expressed his willingness to talk and cooperate with the mainland, but this time there was no follow-up cooperation.
Because Lai Qingde still said that he was unwilling to accept the "consensus of '92," in his view, accepting this consensus was tantamount to giving up "sovereignty," and the cross-strait issue was not an internal affair but an issue that belonged to the international scope.
Spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said that Lai Qingde is doing "Taiwan independence" in the name of "peace."
The "consensus of '92" is a common understanding after cross-strait consultations in the past, and Lai Qingde, while denying the consensus and attempting to accept "aid" from other countries, intends to engage in dialogue and cooperation with the mainland.
Even the Taiwan media were very speechless about Lai Qingde's approach, and bluntly said that Lai Qingde was changing from a "Taiwan independence madman" to a "Taiwan independence liar".
Reference: China News Network, October 25, 2023 - Lai Qingde claims that he is willing to "talk about cross-strait dialogue and cooperation" Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council: It is completely swindling
This time, however, Lai Ching-te once again expressed his request for dialogue and cooperation, and given the lessons of the past, the mainland has only put forward one premise for the demand for dialogue, that is, Taiwan's internal political parties must uphold the one-China principle.
This premise seems simple, but it is probably impossible for Lai Qingde to completely give up his "Taiwan independence."
In order to prevent Lai Qingde from doing some superficial work like last time, the mainland has dispatched a number of planes to operate in the vicinity of the Taiwan Strait, and many planes have even crossed the "center line of the strait," putting great pressure on Taiwan.
As in the past, the local area only dared to say that it would be closely monitored.
Reference: Global Network 2024-05-16 - Taiwan media is keeping a close eye on: 27 PLA military aircraft are active around the Taiwan Strait, "53 nautical miles away from Eluanbi"
If Lai Qingde wants to carry out friendly talks and cooperation with the mainland, he must give up his "Taiwan independence" thinking, but will the thinking that he has persisted in for several decades really change so quickly?
Regardless of whether he sincerely wants to cooperate or not, Lai Ching-te's change in attitude has indeed affected many Taiwan political parties, and they have expressed their hope for peaceful reunification.
Reference: Global Network, May 15, 2024 - Lai Qingde expressed his willingness to carry out cross-strait dialogue, Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council: As long as the DPP abandons its "Taiwan independence" position, dialogue and exchanges can be carried out
The Taiwan issue has been around for a long time, and the mainland will never make concessions to the Taiwan issue no matter how much time has passed, so why does the mainland attach so much importance to the Taiwan issue?
An integral part
The reason why we attach so much importance to the Taiwan issue is not only because of geographical proximity, but also because of the close cultural ties and the deep affection in the blood.
Because Taiwan is the inherent territory of the mainland, we resolutely oppose anyone splitting our country in any form.
However, the countries led by the United States have always insisted on agreeing with the United States on the surface, but behind the scenes they have misinterpreted the UN resolutions, in an attempt to use Taiwan to restrict the development of the mainland.
Therefore, the mainland has always adhered to the concept of one country, which is not only a demand for territorial integrity, but also an effective counterattack against the United States' attempt to split the mainland.
Therefore, now that Lai Qingde is proposing dialogue, as long as he can show that he adheres to the "one-China principle," then cross-strait relations will be greatly improved.
After all, Taiwan's current situation does not look peaceful on the surface, and there are more and more voices hoping for cross-strait reunification.
The situation in Taiwan
Whether to continue to uphold Taiwan independence or to settle the problem peacefully with the mainland is a serious issue for Lai Qingde.
Under the "wise" leadership of Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan is now experiencing many problems, such as water shortages and power outages, which are the most common problems on the island of Taiwan.
Instead of quickly repairing and solving the problem, the DPP also tried to blame the animals for the power outage, saying that the animals had damaged the power equipment.
Not only that, after Tsai Ing-wen became the leader, she once claimed that the Taiwanese people believed that there was a problem with the judiciary, so she held many "judicial reform meetings".
The meeting has been held many times, but there has been no substantive outcome that has raised questions about Tsai's determination to reform the judiciary.
Also, during the administration of Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan has become a "fraud paradise", all kinds of fraud have emerged in an endless stream, and the DPP has also cracked down, but the crackdown has not only not reduced fraud, but has increased fraud.
What also makes the people of Taiwan feel ironic is that the laws of the Taiwan authorities only protect "specific groups of people" and can be acquitted on any given grounds, while the other person is directly sent to prison under the same circumstances.
Many civil servants in Taiwan enjoy all kinds of "preferential treatment", and there have been repeated cases of people being abducted on the island, and none of these have been covered by Tsai Ing-wen's judicial reform.
With so many cases happening, Tsai Ing-wen is also ashamed to say that she is carrying out drastic judicial reform.
In addition to judicial problems, economic problems on the island are also emerging, and Tsai Ing-wen has always said that Taiwan's economic development is not only stable but also very rapid during her tenure.
In reality, however, Taiwan's economic growth is the lowest since the financial crisis, the unemployment rate has hit a new low, and Tsai Ing-wen claims that the economic growth rate is the highest in the world during her seven years in power.
However, in reality, the economic growth rate has declined seriously, and if it were not for the stability of the island's export business, Taiwan's economy would have shown negative growth.
In addition, Taiwan's debt problem is also very serious, with the average Taiwanese person's debt as high as one million yuan, and it seems that the economy was developing steadily when the DPP was in power, but in fact the people's burden is completely "out of control."
Not only is there a power outage on the island, but prices are soaring, things are expensive, there is a lack of a lot of materials, you can't buy them if you want to, and even people's wages have not risen for decades.
Tsai Ing-wen has always said that Taiwan's economy has reached a time of rapid development, but ordinary people have never seen the prospect of economic development.
Reference: Strait Herald 2024-05-16 - The Taiwan authorities are in debt to a record, and Lan Yingmin approved on behalf of the people: Tsai Ing-wen's transcript failed
On the issue of exchanges with the mainland, Tsai Ing-wen has gone to the extreme, and she herself has always adhered to "Taiwan independence" and has close contacts with countries that support her "Taiwan independence," and resolutely refuses to recognize the "consensus of '92."
On the basis of completely ignoring the masses on the island, she forcibly demanded that travel agencies stop their tour groups to and from the mainland, which had a great impact on Taiwan's tourism industry.
Under Tsai Ing-wen's "efforts" for seven consecutive years, cross-strait relations have also stopped because of her remarks, and the island has become chaotic.
After Lai Qingde took office, he needed to face the "mess" left by Tsai Ing-wen.
Reference: Global Network 2024-05-11 - Tsai Ing-wen left three "hot potatoes" for Lai Qingde
In addition to the economic regression, many political parties on the island hope that Lai Qingde will respect the wishes of the people on the island and establish good relations with the mainland.
On 17 July, the chairman of the New Party said that the reason why Taiwan is in its current predicament is because its leaders have always adhered to "Taiwan independence" and colluded with other countries.
Such an act will certainly bring serious harm to cross-strait relations, and recognizing that Taiwanese are also Chinese and that peaceful talks with the mainland are the way out for Taiwan now.
Reference: China News Network, May 17, 2024 - The New Party called on Lai Qingde to respect public opinion and change course
Relying on Lai Ching-te's own efforts, Taiwan's current situation is probably very difficult to accomplish if it wants to change Taiwan for the better, and only by finding a way to repair relations with the mainland can the mainland help Taiwan regain its strength.
However, the premise of cooperation is to give up "Taiwan independence," and I don't know whether Lai Qingde is willing to give it up.
epilogue
Lai Qingde's proposal to hold friendly talks with the mainland this time is indeed a major change he has made in "Taiwan independence" over the years.
Lai Qingde also understands that only a peaceful solution between the two sides of the strait is the only way out for Taiwan's development, but he does not know whether his change is sincere.
No matter what Lai Qingde thinks, he still hopes that the two sides of the strait can achieve peaceful reunification through dialogue, so that cross-strait relations can also develop rapidly.
Reference: China Taiwan Network2018-10-29 - Taiwanese will always be Chinese, which is a fact that cannot be changed
Text | ST
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