China's New Governing Party Paradigm: Political Renewal and the Pursuit of National Rejuvenation by Timothy R. Heath

Author:Timothy R. Heath [Heath, Timothy R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: International Relations, Political Science, Asia, History, General
ISBN: 9781317167112
Google: iGY3DAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2016-05-23T07:07:10+00:00

Taiwan

Central directives regarding Taiwan share many features in common with the approach to Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang. As in the preceding cases, the senior leadership has emphasized the core interests at stake. Directives regarding Taiwan also share a reliance on the generation of leverage through comprehensive development. A major difference from the preceding cases, however, is the more explicit threat of military attack as a tool of coercion. The inclusion of a “stick” reflects the reality that China cannot deploy troops at will to suppress opposition as it can with the incorporated provinces and regions.

PRC defense white papers have consistently invoked the threat of “Taiwan independence forces” to the nation’s pursuit of unification. This may be interpreted as the analogous “contradictory” political forces which oppose Beijing’s consolidation of what it deems a core interest. As with the domestic regions, Beijing prefers to resolve the contradiction through enactment of policies that promote the comprehensive, peaceful integration of Taiwan with China through economic, social, and political means. The most relevant theory concept mentioned in the 18th Party Congress report is the idea of “one country, two systems,” which invokes Hong Kong as a model.

The 18th Party Congress report focused on “peaceful development of cross strait relations” as the policy to be pursued “above all else.” The report also reiterated the importance of the “eight point proposal” to guide policy on Taiwan. These principles call on China and Taiwan to develop the economic and cultural foundations for peaceful reunification and outline Chinese conditions for negotiations. Another key principle guiding China’s Taiwan policy mentioned in the report is the “1992 Consensus,” which refers to the outcome of a meeting by PRC and Taiwan semi-official representatives. Both sides agreed to recognize that only one China exists and that both Taiwan and China belong to that one entity, but that both sides retain the right to define “China” differently.

With these guiding principles in mind, the report outlined ways to build on the status quo to enable a higher degree of economic and cultural integration and explore the contours for some sort of political accommodation that moves the two sides closer to unification. To this end, the report stated that China hopes to work with Taiwan to make “reasonable arrangements” for political relations under the “special condition that the country is yet to be reunified.” It also called for institutionalizing cooperative and consultative relations, for dialogue on military confidence building measures, deepening economic relations, expanding cultural exchanges, and developing common missions that strengthen the sense of shared identity between the two sides.

The directives regarding Taiwan closed with language, consistent with previous Party Congress reports, outlining China’s resolve to use force if necessary to “oppose any separatist attempt for Taiwan independence.” It defined such an attempt in extremely broad terms, explaining that use of force may be justified if a “separatist attempt” in Taiwan “undermines the common interests of both sides.” The invocation of the specter of military attack provides the “stick” to supplement the “carrots” based approach aimed at promoting peaceful unification.

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