Taiwanese independence must be fought on all fronts, says former Chinese official
Beijing expects cross-strait ties to become more complex after Donald Trump takes office, according to former president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait
Beijing must be prepared to suppress pro-independence forces in Taiwan on all fronts ranging from political to diplomatic, according to the former president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait.
Wang Zaixi, who once led the mainland’s semi-governmental organisation for managing ties with Taiwan, said Beijing expected cross-strait relations to get more complicated once Donald Trump became the US president on January 20.
Wang said only the mainland had the capacity and resolve to contain Taiwanese pro-independence forces, but that Beijing would also consider public sentiment of the self-ruled island.
“With the help of the US, Taiwan’s pro-independence forces will play more de-sinicisation tricks without fear,” Wang was quoted as saying by the Global Times, a newspaper published by People’s Daily.
“The only force that can contain Taiwan independence is the Chinese mainland ... To solve the Taiwan issue, it is necessary to comprehensively make use of politics, the economy, the military, the media, diplomacy and so on, ” Wang said.
In a commentary published in the same newspaper, Douglas Paal, former director of the American Institute in Taiwan, also predicted that Sino-US relations would see complications.