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By Chen Yu-fu, Hollie Younger and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writers and Reuters
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The Mainland Affairs Council yesterday dismissed Beijing’s call for “reunification,” describing it as a rehash of its longstanding stance with the ultimate goal of Taiwan’s annihilation.
Addressing the meeting of Beijing’s annual “Taiwan Work Conference” yesterday, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning (王滬寧), the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) fourth-ranked leader, said officials must advance the “great cause of national reunification,” Xinhua news agency reported.
China will offer firm support for “patriotic pro-reunification forces” in Taiwan and strike hard against “separatists,” Wang said.
Supporters of then-president Tsai Ing-wen cheer while following the online counting of ballots during the presidential election in Taipei on Jan. 11, 2020.
Photo: How Hwee Young, EPA-EFE
He also stressed the need to uphold Beijing’s “one China” principle and the so-called “1992 consensus” to firmly combat “Taiwan independence separatist forces and oppose interference by external forces,” Xinhua said.
The “1992 consensus,” a term former MAC chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the CCP that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Wang also called for facilitating people-to-people and primary-level exchanges, and supporting Taiwanese compatriots, especially young people, seeking to study, work and live in China, Xinhua said.
Wang underlined the importance of supporting the development of Taiwanese businesspeople and enterprises in China, so that people on both sides of the Strait could share the opportunities and achievements of Chinese modernization, it said.
The MAC said that the CCP’s endorsement of “pro-unification forces” and establishing “patriots” to rule Taiwan is an acknowledgement that China meant to sow division.
While Beijing stressed the need to uphold the so-called “one China” principle and “1992 consensus,” the logical end is Taiwan’s annihilation, it said.
Taiwan continues to monitor China’s actions and respond to them pragmatically to protect the nation’s sovereignty and security, the council added.
Meanwhile, sources in Beijing said that the CCP has formulated four key objectives for intervening in Taiwan’s elections through local election task forces, “united front” work and cognitive warfare aimed at influencing public opinion online.
Beijing’s creation of task forces at the conference was “a form of aggression against Taiwan,” Taiwan Economic Democracy Union convener Lai Chung-chiang (賴中強) said.
He urged people to recognize which candidates are supported by the CCP and be aware of China’s election interference tactics.
The CCP is planning to use economic coercion and incentives, in addition to political maneuvering to intervene in Taiwan’s local elections this year, he said.
One tactic would be to impose sweeping bans on imports of certain agricultural or food products, then selectively reopen imports for regions or companies connected to political figures it supports, he said.
He referenced previous import bans on Taiwanese pineapple, custard apples, grouper, kaoliang liquor and tea, which were selectively lifted to support specific candidates.
The public should be aware of these tactics and condemn China’s use of economic coercion to influence democratic elections, he said.
Taiwan has made progress in diversifying exports for agricultural products and reducing reliance on the Chinese market, which should help counter the effects, he said.
Moreover, the CCP regularly sponsors trips to China for village chiefs, community organization leaders and residents, which would likely continue on a large scale in the lead-up to the elections, he said.
Online cognitive warfare tactics would continue and expand this year, with new tactics expected to emerge, he said.
