[Correspondent Column] Taiwan Shows Courage to Distance Itself from China

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Park Sun-mi] "A single ship raises its white sail and arrives in Taiwan. Let's bring Taiwanese children to our school and play together. The warm conversation shared by holding hands tightly cannot be fully expressed."

This is the content of the text "Huanying Taiwan Xiaopengyou" (Welcoming Taiwanese Children) found in the first semester of first grade 'Chinese Language' (language and literature) textbook in Chinese elementary schools. Chinese children encounter this content in their textbooks as soon as they enter school and learn about Taiwan. Especially, the part "Let's bring Taiwanese children to our school and play together" fully reflects the ideal image that China envisions for Taiwan's unification.

How did Taiwan evaluate the textbook content? The Taiwanese daily newspaper "United Daily News" once commented on China's intention behind including such content in the first-grade elementary school textbook, stating, "It reveals the intention to promote cross-strait exchanges. The Mainland (Chinese mainland) Ministry of Education seems to want children to recognize Taiwanese friends early on to narrow the distance between the two sides (China-Taiwan) and prepare for communication and integration for the next generation."

How much China desires Taiwan's unification can also be found in Chinese President Xi Jinping's speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the "Message to Compatriots in Taiwan," delivered on January 2 last year, the first working day of the new year. In this speech, he declared that Taiwan would be unified under the "one country, two systems" approach applied to Hong Kong and Macau. President Xi said at the time, "We will do our best for peaceful unification, but we do not promise to renounce the use of force," implying that force could be used for unification.

However, the boomerang China aimed at Taiwan has returned intact to China itself.

Taiwanese people began to realize that China's intention to narrow the distance through active cross-strait exchanges was ultimately part of a bigger plan for Taiwan's unification, and through the Taiwan presidential election held on the 11th, they chose to distance themselves from China in earnest. It became known worldwide that public sentiment rejects unity with China, following Hong Kong and now Taiwan, putting China and President Xi Jinping, who have upheld the "One China" principle and "one country, two systems," in a very difficult position.

It is an open secret that the ongoing Hong Kong protests since June last year have become a spark for Taiwanese people to find reasons to distance themselves from China. Just before the Taiwan election, young people dressed in black clothes and masks supporting Hong Kong protesters appealed in Taipei City, overlapping the futures of Hong Kong and Taiwan, urging the election of President Tsai, who has made "sovereignty protection" a key pledge.

China claims Taiwan as a region belonging to China under the "One China" principle, but in reality, many Taiwanese call themselves "Taiwanese" and feel uncomfortable with the inseparable ties to China. This sentiment is especially strong among the younger generation. Since they are not from the generation that experienced the Chinese Civil War and have grown up thinking of Taiwan as a sovereign independent country, the perception that China and Taiwan are distinctly different is strong. In Taiwan, a new term "Tianlandu (天然獨)" has even emerged to describe young people with strong independence tendencies.

Now, the international community's attention is focused on how Taiwan will set its relationship with China after the election and how China will respond. Given that China has already received much international criticism through the handling of the Hong Kong protests, this attention will likely be a rather annoying burden for China.

This is a matter between China and Taiwan, but we cannot just stand by and watch idly. With China's growing diplomatic power, it has recently increased demands for support of the "One China" and "one country, two systems" principles at every meeting between heads of state and high-ranking officials of various countries. Countries like South Korea, which are security-wise close to the United States and economically close to China, must watch both G2 powers carefully, and after the US-China trade war, they now face yet another headache.