Chinese President Xi Jinping urges Taiwan to follow
Hong Kong model for unification
Teddy Ng Lawrence Chung
China Morning
Press
2 Jan, 2019
Xi calls on Taipei to start work on adopting ‘one
country, two systems’ to bring island back into the China fold
Message comes a day after Taiwanese leader says
self-ruled Taiwan will not cede ground on sovereignty
“Chinese
people will not fight Chinese people,” he said.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, however, rejected
Xi’s claim that the one country, two systems model was the way to resolve
cross-strait conflicts.
“I must reiterate here that Taiwan will never accept
one country, two systems, and the majority opinion in Taiwan is also against
it,” she said just hours after Xi’s speech.
And on matters of unification, she said, only talks
held at the government level carried any weight.
Taiwan and the mainland have been divided since the
Nationalist, or Kuomintang, forces were defeated by the Communists in a civil
war and retreated to the island. In the seven decades since, relations across
the strait have often been tense, raising fears of military confrontation.
On January 1, 1979, Beijing stopped decades of
regular artillery bombardment of Taiwan-controlled islands off the mainland,
and in a public letter to the Taiwanese known as the “message to compatriots in
Taiwan”, called for an end to military confrontation across the strait.
A day before Xi marked the anniversary of the
letter, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, from the pro-independence Democratic
Progressive Party, said Taipei would not give any ground on sovereignty and
Beijing should appreciate that the “Republic of China, Taiwan” had existed for
a long time.
But Xi said Taiwan must be united with the mainland,
adding that the division was a trauma for the Chinese nation that people on
both sides should overcome.
“The Chinese dream [of national rejuvenation] is the
common dream of compatriots across the strait,” he said, using a slogan to
promote China’s aspirations to be a strong power by the middle of the century.
“No one and no force can change the fact that Taiwan
is part of China, and the historical and legal fact that both sides of the
strait belong to one China.”
Xi said the differences in political systems between
the two sides should not be obstacles to unification, and could be resolved
through one country, two systems – an approach adopted for Hong Kong and Macau
to ensure the two cities’ political and economic systems remained intact after
handover.
“The
introduction of one country, two systems is originally for taking care of the
conditions of Taiwan and protecting the interests and benefits of Taiwan
compatriots,” he said.
“The social system and lifestyle of Taiwan compatriots
will be fully respected, and their private property, religion and legitimate
interests will be fully protected after peaceful unification, and on the
condition that national sovereignty, security and development are guaranteed.”
Xi said the mainland welcomed exchanges with all
political parties and organizations in Taiwan based on the one-China principle
and the 1992 consensus – an agreement reached by both sides that there is only
one China but each side can have its own interpretation of what that means.
The Chinese president’s call comes amid a prolonged
suspension in contact between Beijing and Taipei. The mainland suspended
communication after Tsai took office in 2016 and failed to recognize the
consensus, which Beijing insists is the foundation for any direct links.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen tells Beijing it
‘must’ respect island’s sovereignty, people’s choices
In addition, Beijing has staged military drills near
the island, wooed away some of Taipei’s diplomatic allies and cut the number of
mainland tourists allowed to make the trip across the strait.
But it has also made it easier for Taiwanese people
to work and do business on the mainland.
Xi also said the mainland would step up economic
cooperation and youth exchanges with Taiwan, and urged people in Hong Kong to
support reunification efforts.
Martin Lee Chu-ming, founding chairman of the
Democratic Party in Hong Kong, was skeptical of Xi’s call to apply one country,
two systems in Taiwan.
“One country, two systems is valid for 50 years in
Hong Kong. How long will it last for Taiwan?” he said.
People in Taiwan were concerned about the mainland
authorities’ growing influence on the city, such as attempts to advance
national security legislation, he said.
“Taiwanese people who look at Hong Kong will see the
changes over the past 20 years.”
Lee said he was also concerned that Xi’s “democratic
consultations” would end up with mainland officials dictating directives
without consulting or respecting the views of the Taiwanese.
Ip Kwok-him, a Hong Kong deputy to the National
People’s Congress, said “one country, two systems” was the way forward for
Taiwan.
“One country, two systems means the government needs
to make sure both socialism and capitalism do well. Look at Taiwan’s economy –
it’s in a mess under Tsai ... while mainland China’s economic power has been
very strong,” he said.
Ip added that in the recent elections in Taiwan,
several DPP candidates were defeated by KMT rivals.
“It shows that the people in Taiwan also want the
island’s economy to do well,” he said, adding that Hong Kong had shown that
“one country, two systems” could succeed in a capitalist economy and that the
city was “thriving with the mainland’s support”.
“Under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle,
Taiwan will maintain its autonomy, and there is much room for discussion under
this principle,” Ip said.
Lau Siu-kai, vice-chairman of The Chinese
Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies, a semi-official think tank, said
that while Taiwan might be able to negotiate its own terms within the one
country, two systems framework, the model was not popular with people living on
the island, especially in light of the situation in Hong Kong.
Lau noted that Xi did not say in his speech that one
country, two systems worked well in Hong Kong.
“Knowing that many Taiwanese have mixed or even
negative feelings about how one country, two systems works in Hong Kong, it is
understandable that Xi didn’t mention it,” he said.
Additional reporting by Choi Chi-yuk, Kristin Huang
and Tony Cheung
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