How successful has the CCP government been at resolving the political challenge

posed by the Taiwan Strait Issue?

The political status of Taiwan remains a controversial issue even today, one that remains
at the heart of CCP's concern because failure to manage the issue adequately will
undermine CCP's claim to political legitimacy based on nationalism for the government
would be perceived by the people as incompetent and have failed to safeguard China's
territorial integrity. While China is determined to reunify the island, the Taiwanese regard
their country as an independent state, not a renegade province of Beijing. How far the
CCP government has been successful at resolving the Taiwan Strait Issue does not
depend on whether the island has been reunified with the mainland but how successful
has China been at winning the favor of the Taiwanese and restricting the latter's option at
seeking political independence. Hence, this essay seeks to argue that CCP government
has been largely successful at resolving the issue because notwithstanding that the
hardline measures have alienated many on the island towards identifying themselves with
the Chinese and socio-political gulf between Beijing and Taiwan have continued to
widen, China's carrot-and-stick approach has persuaded the Taiwanese that resistance
against the Chinese advances is futile and impractical.
For historical and cultural reasons, eventual reunification with Taiwan would justify
CCP's political legitimacy to govern China. For centuries, the concept of "One China"
and China Proper which includes Taiwan being governed under a single authority, have
been imbibed in the minds of generations of Chinese. The overwhelming majority of
mainland Chinese felt strongly that Taiwan should reunify with China This is a powerful
sentiment that the CCP government could not ignore. The government is eager to court
popular support since most part of its political legitimacy has been lost given the
problems generated by the economic reforms since 1978. After the return of "lost
territories" like Hong Kong and Macao, the Chinese government assumed that it is
natural that Taiwan should be reunified. This, according to the Chinese leadership since
Mao, would serve to wash away Chinese's "hundred years of humiliation" at the hands of
the foreign imperialists in the last century.
Although CCP's issue of military threats has significantly undercut the practicality for
Taiwanese independence, anti-China sentiments on the island are inversely strengthened.
The Anti-Secession Law in 2005 that formalized the longstanding policy of the People's
Republic of China to use "non-peaceful means" against the "Taiwan independence
movement" in the event of a declaration of Taiwanese independence. More than a third of
China's extensive armed personnel and ballistic arsenal are positioned along the Taiwan
Strait. Military exercises by the PLA are conducted whenever the Taiwanese government
hinted pro-independence tendencies. Cross-strait Relations were especially tense during
the term of more nationalistic leaders like Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji, and when
Taiwan is under President Chen Shui-bian. Such strong stance has indicated to many
Taiwanese that call for independence is a suicidal option. Nevertheless, Taiwanese
dissatisfaction towards China hardened as evident in the marginal victory of Lee Teng
Hui and the pro-independent Democratic People's Tarty (DPP) in year 1996 and 2000

elections, effected by the missile firings and issue of military threats by the CCP
government.
Meanwhile, much energy and resources expended by China have been successful at
limiting Taiwan's bid for more international space, which in turn narrowed the island's
political options. Given China's tremendous economic clout, most countries in the world,
except for 23small and impoverished nations surviving under Taiwan's aid, accepted the
One China Policy. The United States, European Union and Japan are constantly reminded of
their commitment to the policy whenever they displayed pro-Taiwanese tendencies. Huge
amount of loans have also been spent to sway Taiwan's allies from their diplomatic ties
with the island. China interprets UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, which states
"Recognizing that the representatives of the Government of the People's Republic of
China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations", to mean that the
PRC is granted the sovereignty of all of China, including Taiwan. China's maneuver has
successfully denied Taiwan from gaining international recognition of its diplomatic
independence. During Chen Shui-bian's presidential term for example, even requests to
land his official jet at the major US airports were rejected by the American government.
Such has however drawn irk from the pro-independence politicians and their supported
against China's "bullying" tactics.
CCP's more conciliatory economic policies that are largely beneficial to the material
well-being of the Taiwanese, though to some extent are unappreciated by the latter, have
successfully bonded the island to the mainland. Trade reached an annual level of
$24billion in 1993. By March 1996, China was Taiwan's second largest market, marking
up 21percent of Taiwan's exports, and the major target of Taiwan's overseas investment.
Beijing also provided many tax shelters and other preferential treatments for Taiwanese
investment and tolerated a huge trade deficit with Taiwan. The growth of economic ties
gave China leverage over Taiwan's domestic economy and politics, and more pressure on
the latter to soften its stance towards China. Numerous Taiwanese agricultural exports are
exempted from tariffs and duties by Beijing. CCP has also achieved some successes as
seen in Taipei's unilateral establishment of the "Three Small Links" and Chen Shui Bian's
decision to end the limits on trade and investment with China. The current global
economic crisis has subsequently made the Taiwanese economy more dependent on
Chinese supplies and market. However, though favored terms have been awarded to
agricultural imports from Taiwan, Tainan-a predominantly rural prefecture in Southern
Taiwan which supposedly benefitted the most-remained the staunch electoral base of
the pro-independent DPP. Nevertheless, visits to China by Chen Ju and subsequent DPP
leaders since 2009 signified that even the pro-independence leadership realized that ties
with the mainland must be managed amicably and realistically, that pragmatism should
outweigh political idealism. The signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework
Agreement (ECFA) in 2010 further bonds Taiwan to the mainland's economy. By 2010,
cross-strait ties have become a non-issue in Taiwanese election as even the DPP
recognized the importance of economic cooperation with China. Tsai lng-wen, the DDP
leader, even promised that maintaining stability in cross-strait relations will be written
into the party's platform for the next ten years.

Given the great significance to the Taiwan Issue, the CCP government has displayed
tremendous patience in pursing peaceful resolutions, even if they were not entirely
reciprocated by the Taiwanese. The Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits
(ARATS) and the Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) are formed to promote more
frequent cross-strait interactions between both sides. Since Deng, the Chinese
government has consistently promised the Taiwanese that they could retain their system
and even defense force after reunification with China. Social visits for Taiwanese to
China have been approved generously by the latter. Cultural and religious exchanges at
the people's level are dense and frequent. China has also allowed for Taiwanese
educational qualifications to be recognized ion the Chinese job market. Chinese
persistence as such pays off as more than a million Taiwanese now live and work on the
mainland. Senior Taiwanese politicians from the Nationalist Party gladly accepted CCP's
invitation to visit the mainland. For example, the high profile Lien Zhan visits to China in
2006. Taiwanese entertainment artistes are widely welcomed in China and they even
performed on the Chinese side for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Success of CCP's policies towards Taiwan is obstructed by anti-China political sentiments
on the island. Most Taiwanese who are accustomed to the liberal democratic system on
the island, are adamant towards the idea of being part of the authoritarian China. In
addition, decades of separation from the mainland have resulted in the growth and
development of a society that is distinctly different from China. In 1999, Taiwan President
Lee Teng-hui proposed a Two-State Theory in which both the Republic of China (ROC)
and the People's Republic of China (PRC) would acknowledge that they are two separate
countries with a special diplomatic, cultural and historical relationship, and gained
immense support from Taiwan. During Chen Shui-bian's term, mainland-born Taiwanese
are discriminated so that they could not sabotage the germination of a distinct Taiwanese
identity. Even Ma Ying-Jeou, the China-friendly Taiwanese president since 2008, to
conduct open military exercises and purchased weapons from America to garner domestic
approval.
Pressure and expectations from the global community also limit China's success in its
dealings with Taiwan. Many countries maintain cultural, commercial and other unofficial
relations with Taiwan. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) creates domestic legal authority
for the conduct of unofficial Taiwan-American relations was signed into law. Beijing's
options to deal with Taiwan are limited with international wish for the conflict to be
resolved amicably. Chinese threats to invade Taiwan also raise concerns and fears from
its Asian neighbors that regional peace would be destabilized. This would add fuel to the
China Threat Theory hence undermining China's attempts at promoting its peaceful
diplomatic principles. Due to their strategic interest in the Pacific, America, and less
directly Japan and the European Union, have pledged in some ways to support Taiwan if
armed clashes were to break out with China. American's Seventh Pacific Let patrolling
the strait is a constant thorn on China's side.
In conclusion, while reunification would seem unlikely in the foreseeable future,
Beijing's relationship with Taiwan has already deepened under a comprehensive
groundwork that directs both territories towards an eventual reunification. Even though

success of CCP government to some extent has been limited, given the vast political and
social gulfs that existed between both sides, significant progress has been made
especially in the economic field to bond the island to the mainland. In addition, clamors
for Taiwanese independence have been effectively curbed. Since China has been largely
successful at winning the favor of the Taiwanese and restricting the latter's option at
seeking political independence, it can be said that the CCP government has been largely
successful at resolving the political challenge posed by the Taiwan Strait Issue.