KMT chaos destabilizing to ties: ex-China official

KMT DECLINE:There is no longer a group in Taiwan that can balance the independence faction, and the only such force now lies in China, Wang Zaixi said

By Lin Liang-sheng and Jake Chung  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is losing its status as a powerful political party and a counterweight to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), leading to the ever-decreasing possibility of peaceful unification, former vice minister of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Zaixi (王在希) said in a recent interview with the Chinese Communist Party-controlled Global Times.

Wang said that the “status quo” is largely supported by ordinary Taiwanese, and any move that would challenge it would likely be opposed.

Asked about the influence of US president-elect Donald Trump on cross-strait affairs, Wang said that at the beginning of Trump’s presidency there would be a period when his administration would seek to cause trouble for China over Taiwan.

However, US support of Taiwan is conditional and would require reciprocation, and Taiwan should consider the possible result should it wish to risk peace, Wang said.

The Taiwan issue has existed for 67 years, and a solution will not be found overnight, Wang said, adding that arbitrarily assigning a time scheme for the resolution of “a complicated issue such as the unification across the Strait is impractical and unscientific.”

Regarding Taiwanese politics, Wang said there no longer exists a force within Taiwan that could counterbalance the pro-Taiwan independence faction, adding that the only such force now lay in China.

The KMT has lost its status as one of the nation’s major political parties, and the factions favoring unification are now scattered, leaving the DPP the sole party in power, Wang said.

Despite the decreasing chance of peaceful cross-strait unification, Beijing would nonetheless attempt to seek a solution peacefully, he said.

Economic sanctions against Taiwan would damage the interests of ordinary Taiwanese, Wang said, adding that Beijing should not seek to use the economy as leverage, but should instead seek to protect it.

Otherwise, China would continue to be unpopular in Taiwan, Wang said.

Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) on Thursday said that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should seek to prevent risks while protecting people’s rights, adding that in the council’s view, nothing about cross-strait affairs is “small potatoes.”

Media reports claiming that cross-strait relations have entered an ice age are overstating the matter, “at least from Taiwan’s perspective,” Chiu said.

In the new year, Taipei would work hard to maintain established structures on cross-strait relations and utilize multiple channels to conduct dialogue with China, he said.

While China places limitations on cross-trait interactions for political reasons, President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration would continue to handle cross-strait issues practically and call on China to admit the realities of cross-strait relations, Chiu said.

Additional reporting by CNA