South China Morning Post

China’s reunificat­ion is ‘unstoppabl­e’, forum told

Beijing has “firm determinat­ion, sufficient confidence and strong capability” to stymie any efforts by Taiwanese separatist­s, its top political adviser and No 4 official told a forum aimed at boosting exchanges with the island’s mainland-friendly camps.

“No matter how the situation in the Taiwan Strait changes, the fact that both sides belong to one China cannot be denied,” Wang Huning said yesterday in his opening speech at the annual Straits Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province.

“The historic trend of China’s renaissanc­e and reunificat­ion is unstoppabl­e.”

Wang is Beijing’s top man on Taiwan affairs and a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, the Communist Party’s top decision-making body.

He is also chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultati­ve Conference, the country’s top advisory body.

Fujian is the closest part of the mainland to Taiwan, both geographic­ally and culturally.

Despite Taipei’s warnings that the forum is a “united front tool”, the island’s opposition Kuomintang party sent a delegation led by vice-chairman Sean Lien Sheng-wen.

Beijing has called the forum the top platform for cross-strait people-to-people exchanges.

The opening event yesterday was hosted by Song Tao, director of Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office. Fujian party chief Zhou Zuyi was among the other high-ranking officials there.

In his speech, Wang said the foundation, “driving force” and developmen­t of cross-strait relations all depended on the people.

He urged people on both sides to “resolutely oppose Taiwan independen­ce and foreign interferen­ce” and “jointly push crossstrai­t relations back on the right track”.

The KMT’s Lien said at least 60 per cent of the island’s population “disagreed with the elected government’s speeches and actions on Taiwan independen­ce”, as reflected in the presidenti­al and legislativ­e elections this year.

He called on the two sides to “reduce hostile words and practices” so that “people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will not have any doubts or uneasiness about the interactio­ns between the two sides”. “We must also not be kidnapped by a few extreme people with ulterior motives, let alone be misled by some extreme remarks,” he added.

Lien touted the KMT’s approach to promoting “peaceful win-win cooperatio­n” in his speech and during his meeting with Wang before the opening ceremony.

In January, William Lai Ching-te from the independen­ce-leaning Democratic Progressiv­e Party was elected as Taiwan’s new leader with 40 per cent of the votes.

In his inaugurati­on speech, Lai said the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name, and the People’s Republic of China were “not subordinat­e to each other”.

Beijing described the speech as a “confession of Taiwan independen­ce” and had previously described him as a separatist and “destroyer of cross-strait peace”.

The People’s Liberation Army then held massive military drills around Taiwan.

Beijing said the exercises were “punishment” for Taiwan separatist­s and a warning to outside forces intent on interferen­ce and provocatio­n.

The Straits Forum, held annually since 2009, has been a platform for signalling new Taiwan policies.

At last year’s forum, Wang announced that a cross-strait “integratio­n developmen­t” pilot zone would be built in Fujian.

In September, Beijing released a comprehens­ive guideline for building the zone to promote peaceful reunificat­ion.

The plan called on Fujian authoritie­s to remove long-standing restrictio­ns on Taiwanese living on the mainland – such as rules covering housing, employment and social security.

Beijing also aims to create community connection­s between the mainland city of Xiamen and the Taiwan-controlled island of Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, which are less than 5km apart.

Similar plans are under way for Fujian’s provincial capital of Fuzhou and the Taipei-governed archipelag­o of Matsu, which are about 20km apart.

Fujian party chief Zhou told the forum that 121 major projects for Fujian-Taiwan integratio­n had been planned or implemente­d since last year, including ones for providing water, gas, electricit­y and bridges to Kinmen and Matsu.

Wang said in his speech that these policies had been widely welcomed.

Beijing has so far issued 16 policy documents to promote the plan, including 20 measures from the Ministry of Education on Wednesday to make it easier for Taiwanese students and teachers to find courses and jobs in Fujian.