Source: Pearls and Irritations Published: 2024-01-16

“I hope to get a Chinese passport and become a Chinese citizen,” a Taiwanese student of mine once told me. “Only by being Chinese can we have confidence and become the most powerful country in the world. If we remain only Taiwanese, we are but a mere vassal of the United States,” he said with hope and urgency.

My Taiwanese student, who studied with me for five years, knows full well that China mainland can resist the US suppression of its trade and technology and the politicising of human rights.

This student’s reflections are shared by many young Taiwanese when it comes to wanting pragmatic solutions to national reunification.

Some surveys show that 51 percent of young people in Taiwan like to use mainland APPs, such as Tiktok and RED. They envy the mainland’s high-speed rail system that can zip people across the country for business or travel or just for the weekend. They see new breathing space with the rapid rise in standards of living and the great potential for continued economic progress.

This is why two of the three parties in Sunday’s election have made it clear that they do not support Taiwan independence or even talking about reunification. Therefore I am optimistic that China mainland and Taiwan will sit down and talk in the near future, and the two sides will find a path forward to a truly reunified China.

China is already prepared for cross-Taiwan strait reunification According to the 14th Five-Year Plan, China mainland has set 2035 for the completion of construction of a cross-strait bridge. A Taiwanese artist wrote a popular song about taking a train from the mainland, and his desire “to sit on a high-speed train to Taipei (from Beijing).”

Historians acknowledge that the stronger the country, the stronger its unified power. The psychology of revering strength will prompt the two sides of the Strait to sit down and talk. It seems that the Chinese economy will surpass the United States around 2035 and become the world’s largest economy. In the future, the envy and worship young people in Taiwan have for the mainland will only strengthen.

In the past, Taiwanese people had a sense of superiority over their higher living standards, but now the GDP of its west coast neighbour, Fujian Province, exceeds Taiwan’s. In the next five years, Fujian’s per capita GDP is also projected to surpass Taiwan’s. Taiwan’s standard of living was 10 times higher than Fujian’s 30 years ago, but now many Taiwanese are reflecting on why their island is slipping as Fujian grows, even though they share a regional culture.

Time is on mainland China’s side.

Taiwan’s current party in the power, the DPP, will never change the mainland’s Taiwan policy. There is no power that can split China. Mainland China hopes for a peaceful reunification, but has never said that it will not use force. Force will be used only to curb Taiwan independence, not the people of Taiwan. It can be said that without Taiwan independence, there would be no reunification through military conflict.

The more rampant the DPP leads Taiwan independence activities, the faster the process of preparing mainland China’s military forces for reunification would go. In the summer of 2022, Taiwan allowed Pelosi to visit the island. Mainland China then normalised the navigation around the island, which is equivalent to military circumscription of the Island. It is foreseeable that as long as the “Taiwan independence” operation goes forward, the pace of promoting reunification in mainland China will go further until reunification is complete.

At the “San Francisco Meeting” in November 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged President Biden to ” support China’s peaceful reunification,” and the United States again said it does “not support Taiwan independence.” This shows that US policy goals are designed not to allow Taiwan independence, but to make Taiwan a tool to curb the development of mainland China.

Even though the United States continues to sell weapons to Taiwan, it’s only for the benefit of the military-industrial complex, and cannot change the trend toward reunification.

The so-called “invasion of Taiwan” being hyped by Western media is inaccurate. Taiwan has never been a sovereign country. More than 95 percent of countries around the world have acknowledged that Taiwan is part of China. This is also the UN consensus. The differences between the mainland and Taiwan are not conflicts between two countries—they are differences within a single China.

Western media, politicians, and think tanks are confusing right and wrong. They would not say that President Lincoln launched a war invading the southern United States, nor would they say that Mrs. Thatcher launched a war invading Argentina. So why do they suggest there could be a so-called “China’s invasion of Taiwan”?

Another lie is the “Chinese military threat.” This is a pseudo-proposition. China has never invaded any inch of territory of another country. In the past half a century, China has never had military conflicts with any country or region. War is the only thing that is not “made in China.” Some American politicians often complain about China’s tough attitude, but this because they only want China to follow their orders.

A lot of Western media, especially American media, should tell the story of US military conflicts around the world, including the destruction wrought in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya. US military expenses account for 45 percent of the world’s total, and the United States is a threat to the entire world, including China. Since 2018, the United States has launched a trade war and a tech war against China, but what China has done is only to preserve its sovereignty and security.

Fortunately, the trade war and high-tech war have not prevented China’s development. Trying to curb China by playing the Taiwanese card, is destined for failure. The reunification process in China continues. The only uncertainty is when and what form of unity will be achieved. This tests the wisdom of the Chinese.

Mainland China has always respected the political system and economic life on the island of Taiwan. Mainland officials have publicly stated that the island’s political system, security, economy, and culture will not be impacted by cross-strait reunification.

Life for the people of Taiwan will undoubtedly get better after reunification. This is what my Taiwanese student realised after years of studying in Beijing. Taiwan would no longer have to pay the United States a huge protection fee for expensive military weapons. Taiwan taxpayers would not have to pay to prop up its so-called “central government.” As citizens of China, Taiwanese residents will truly enjoy the benefits of helping move a great nation forward. They will be recognised and rewarded for their contribution to building a China free of this tempest that has long been a thorn in our nation’s side. I believe it will be realised in the near future.