By Tenzin Dharpo
DHARAMSHALA, June 28: The escalation in the China-Taiwan relations became official following the decision by the mainland to suspend diplomatic ties with the island Nation over newly elected President Tsai Ing-wen’s reluctance to kowtow to China’s push for a “One China” policy.
On Saturday (June 25), a spokesperson for Taiwan Affair’s Office in Beijing said, “The cross-strait communication mechanism has been suspended because Taiwan did not recognize the 1992 Consensus, the political basis for the One China principle.”
The friction between the two countries that existed since 1949 were exacerbated since Tsai’s DPP party (Democratic Progressive Party) which is considered pro-independence won elections earlier this year replacing the pro- Beijing Kuomintang (KMT) party in the government.
The Taiwanese President who is currently in Panama, accused of not recognizing the “1992 consensus” and denigrated by Beijing for calls for Taiwanese Independence, maintains that she wants to maintain peace with China and retain the status quo although of course not endorsing the “one China” policy. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council responding to the stall in ties stated, “The (Taiwanese) government will continue to keep the door open for cross-strait communication and make every effort to safeguard the existing mechanism.”
Andreas Fulda, senior fellow at the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham told Al Jazeera that China’s move may yet alienate the Taiwanese people who are already leaning allegiance to the DPP endorsed pro-independence sentiments attested by the landslide victory in January this year. “It is a highly unusual act and it seems counterintuitive because if the Chinese Communist Party was keen to win the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese it wouldn’t engage in these kind(s) of activities,” said Fulda.
Dharamshala based Tibetan activist and writer who has worked with Taiwanese intellectuals and Taiwanese NGOs sees the development as arisen from a fundamental CCP trait of fear of freedom and democracy. “China hasn’t reached out to Tsai Ing-wen’s administration yet and therefore Beijing’s declaration of disenchantment for the new government in Taipei seems to originate from pre-determined assumptions, and most importantly it belies China’s innate fear of Taiwan’s Independence and Democracy,” Tsundue told Phayul.
