It Is Reasonable to Completely Block Lawrence Ko

 It Is Reasonable to Completely Block Lawrence Ko

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

April 1, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

The Mainland’s “31 preferential measures for Taiwan” have been promulgated for a month, eliciting wide discussions in Taiwan’s society. Although the DPP government has adopted contemptuous countermeasures in an attempt to dilute their possible impacts, the countermeasures have apparently achieved no effect. Just as the effect of the Mainland’s "31 preferential measures for Taiwan" continues to escalate, two news stories occurred: the first is about Lawrence Ko, son of the movie director Ko I-chen, who publicly supported the Sunflower Student Movement. Lawrence Ko was exposed on the Mainland as a "Taiwan independence entertainer"; the movie in which he was the leading actor "Missing Johnny" was thus shelved from being shown in cinemas by Mainland film distributors. Second is about Taiwanese businessman Lee Jung-fu, who recently published newspaper ads apologizing for his "pro-Tsai Ing-wen" remarks, and reiterating his anti-Taiwan independence stance. The Mainland Affairs Council and the pro-independence faction seized the moment as easy prey; the former said with schadenfreude that the Mainland’s 31 preferential measures for Taiwan were announced not yet a month ago, but incidences of “discrepancies in words and deeds” have now appeared. The latter, in a mood of sour grapes, hoorayed that the Mainland’s “two-handed tactics” on preferential measures for Taiwan have been "debunked."

The Mainland’s 31 preferential measures for Taiwan refused to extend benefits to the pro-independence faction; could these be called two-handed tactics? As pointed out by An Fengshan, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office, "These measures have fully realized the Mainland's good faith in maintaining the concept of ‘both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family,’ taking the initiative to share with ‘Taiwan compatriots’ the Mainland’s development opportunities, accelerating the provision of national treatment, and serving Taiwan compatriots and Taiwan businesses in their undertakings.” We must note the policy’s clear premise that “both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family” and "Taiwan compatriots." Some Mainland media have further interpreted that if people in the trades related to business, culture/education, entertainment, or tourism want to share the dividends of the Mainland’s preferential measures for Taiwan, then they must clear the bar of “anti-Taiwan independence”; the target of cross-Strait integration does not include Taiwan independence.

Thus, for the pro-independence faction to attack the Mainland’s preferential policies on Taiwan as two-handed was taken out of context, deliberately confusing the public. Extending preferential measures for Taiwan and anti-Taiwan independence are two sides of the same coin in the Mainland's policy toward Taiwan and cannot be separated. Li Keqiang’s recent “Government Work Report” and Xi Jinping’s address at the closing ceremony of the National People’s Congress both completely, comprehensively, and dialectically discoursed the Mainland’s policy toward Taiwan. On the one hand, the Mainland insists on expanding cross-Strait economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation, sharing with Taiwan compatriots the Mainland’s development opportunities, while emphasizing it would never tolerate any "splittest attempts or acts of Taiwan independence elements." This is completely the opposite of the two-handed tactics that the pro-Taiwan independence faction have tried to describe as "discrepancies in words and deeds".

Not to mention that the Taiwan Affairs Office under the State Council made a statement when confirming that the movie with Lawrence Ko’s participation was blocked; if these entertainers recognize the mistakes and harms of the pro-Taiwan independence movement and make changes in their thoughts and actions, then the Mainland will adopt an attitude of welcome; the Mainland’s position has been consistent all along.

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