Glad to See Lai Ching-te Groping along the Way in Crossing the Cross-Strait River

  Glad to See Lai Ching-te Groping along the Way in Crossing the Cross-Strait River

 China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan, ROC)

June 22, 2017

 Translation of an Except

Tainan City Mayor Lai Ching-te threw out statements one after another, such as "pro-China, loving Taiwan", "repealing the party platform is no problem, accepting the 1992 Consensus is no problem either," like throwing a stone causing quite some ripples. The Green camp evaded in astonishment, busying themselves to ease the situation. To be fair, the “Lai Ching-te phenomenon,” though creating some harm for Lai personally and the DPP party, shows that the DPP, in facing the cross-Strait dilemma, has begun to think anew about the question of cross-Strait identity.

The color of the Lai Ching-te as a Taiwan independence faction element has always been bright; when he visited Shanghai in 2014, he even ad-libbed, in the course of a speech, his strong support for Taiwan independence, plunging the other side into utter astonishment. This time, on the eve his US visit, Lai first threw out in an interpellation session at the city council "pro-China, loving Taiwan," and later upped the ante by stating his challenge to the established policy of the DPP; the Green camp was frightened into a cold sweat. A former Green camp elder described this as a “curveball” in a bid for the presidential election, apparently targeting Tsai Ying-wen, who has thus become a lame duck prematurely.

Inside Taiwan, the reunification/independence question has been mired in divergences for a long time; the ruling and opposition parties are hostile to each other, with political leaders defending their own views. They seek votes but adopted a "fuzzy strategy" with regard to the question of national identity, causing confusion on the perception of the public. The Mainland as a whole has never bent on the question of one China; in contrast, it is total chaos among the ruling and opposition parties in Taiwan. This is the biggest peril in Taiwan.

The DPP must realize that the question of cross-Strait identity can no longer be avoided; it must be bold enough to make adjustments. Whether it is Lai Ching-te or the DPP, neither should oppose "one China" simply because they oppose "one country, two systems." That cross-Strait relations are not state-to-state relations is the starting point for stable cross-Strait ties. Being identified with one China, one has a foundation to argue about the content of one China and about the conditions and the path for reunification.

We are glad to see the DPP’s bravery in groping for transformation of its Mainland policy. However, it takes extreme caution in groping along the way; it cannot flip-flop in its position and should forsake, as a further step, the use of fuzzy rhetoric to hypnotize others. Playing in treacherous waters, the end proves fatal. We want to remind the DPP that groping along the way "is for crossing the river, and not for playing in the water." The DPP must seriously face the crucial issue of a new consensus in cross-Strait exchanges. 

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