Tsai's ploys can't prevent reunification

Delivering a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of the Message to Compatriots in Taiwan on Jan 2, President Xi Jinping said reunification of the Chinese mainland and Taiwan under the "one country, two systems" principle is a "historical conclusion drawn over the 70 years of the development of cross-Straits relations, and a must for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era".

Xi's speech was widely welcomed by people on both sides of the Straits. But the island leader Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to accept the 1992 Consensus that there is only one China, has called for her administration to counter the mainland's "one country, two systems" formula for reunification.

Speaking at a "security meeting" last week, Tsai asked her officials to counter what she described as a serious challenge to the island's security and to stop the mainland from interfering in the island's political, economic and social development. Which means she wants to continue her anti-mainland policies and mislead Taiwan for her narrow political gains.

Tsai's response to the historical necessity of national reunification under the principle of "one country, two systems" was not unexpected, because she and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party have been encouraging separatists to sever all ties with the mainland and seek "Taiwan independence".

Tsai's speech and action may certainly encourage separatists, while enhancing her administration's reputation among the separatists. But she seems to have forgotten that by dealing a crushing defeat to the DPP in the local elections last year, Taiwan compatriots want to tell her that instead of indulging in divisive policies, she should give priority to the economy.

Although Tsai said in her speech that "we should positively look at cross-Straits exchanges", her remarks are essentially an attempt to restrict, confront and tarnish the mainland. No wonder the "pro-independence forces" on the island are still playing the secessionist card to maintain the status quo in cross-Straits relations.

Tsai also said last week that Taiwan should "actively counter the Communist Party of China's infiltration and interference in its affairs under the pretext of exchanges", "work with the international community to counter the CPC's elimination" of the "sovereignty" of the island, and "comprehensively enhance the island's military force to deter the CPC's risky military moves". This shows she is desperate to use the so-called threat from the mainland to manipulate Taiwan residents and win their votes in the next election.

It seems Tsai and the ruling DPP are trying to use an upgraded version of their "anti-mainland card" to hype up the threat of the mainland using its military to achieve reunification and creating the false impression that Taiwan residents would lose "democracy and freedom" under the "one country, two systems".

In essence, Tsai's actions are aimed at undermining the prospects of peaceful development of cross-Straits ties and resisting peaceful reunification.

However, one thing she and her administration have missed in their calculations is that they can never change the resolve of the mainland to not allow the island to secede from the motherland. She has also missed the fact that the island's "independence" is not the choice of the majority of the Taiwan people.

The fact is, before she assumed office in 2016, cross-Straits ties had progressed smoothly under her predecessor despite the different political systems on the two sides of the Straits. Also, the majority of Taiwan people know that the island's economic and social development has benefited immensely from the amiable cross-Straits relationship in the eight years before Tsai became the island leader.

It is clear therefore that the Tsai administration's plan to counter the mainland will only further hurt Taiwan residents' well-being and impede the prospects of peaceful development across the Straits.

In the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, the "one country, two systems" formula is the best way to achieve national reunification. And the sooner Tsai and her administration understand this, the better it will be for them, because the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is a goal that will be achieved.

The author is deputy director of the Taiwan Research Center, Xiamen University. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.