China-Taiwan reunification

[Chinese-Dragon]

I suppose you believe the same when it comes to India and Nepal?

P.S. I do not.

What percentage of India and Nepal are the same ethnic group?

Do Nepalese ever call themselves "Indians"? (In my experience they do not).

Do the governments of India and Nepal consider their nations to be one country? No.

Taiwan on the other hand is officially called the "Republic of China", and they are 98% Han Chinese.

The KMT ruling party of Taiwan has repeatedly endorsed the one-China policy, and favours eventual reunification.

BOTH the PRC (China) and the KMT (Taiwan) follow the one-China policy, and agree that both nations are a part of one China.

Even the President of Taiwan was born in China (Hong Kong), and has pro-China views.

 

[chengdusudise]

no war, no unification, simple

 

[Martian2]

Thank goodness it is not like the Indo-Pakistan thing, for a while i feared it was.

The Chinese and Korean divisions are political in nature and resulted from the Cold War. The Indo-Pak animosity is different and religious in nature. I have no idea how to fix that. It is very difficult to bring two peoples together if their core belief in God or gods is different.

In Iraq, Sunnis and Shiites (e.g. brother versus brother) are willing to slaughter each other over their difference in religious beliefs. History has shown that people are willing to abandon their families and go on crusades over their religious beliefs.

I wish the people of India and Pakistan the best of fortune in resolving their differences. It won't be an easy road. Hopefully, South Asians will realize that their commonalities are more important than their differences.

 

[siegecrossbow]

no war, no unification, simple

I don't share your pessimistic views. Would you kindly give reasons as to why the only way for China to achieve reunification is through violence?

 

[Martian2]

no war, no unification, simple

I don't share your pessimistic views. Would you kindly give reasons as to why the only way for China to achieve reunification is through violence?

It is imperative that Hans show that they are at least as civilized as contemporary Germans. If former Eastern and Western Germany can reunite peacefully then China should settle for nothing less.

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

It is imperative that Hans show that they are at least as civilized as contemporary Germans. If former Eastern and Western Germany can reunite peacefully then China should settle for nothing less.

I agree, any future reunification between China and Taiwan MUST be a peaceful one.

No more brothers killing brothers. No more civil war.

 

[Martian2]

The Lantern Festival is an example of the shared traditions of all Hans. As a child of four or five years old, I carried my own little red lantern among a large group of children walking in a single file during the night.

The shared experiences and innumerable similarities (e.g. even most Han names come from a very limited pool) bind all Hans together everywhere, including the brethren in Singapore. While Singapore is an independent country, Singaporeans will always occupy a special status as fellow Hans.

Please make sure to select 720p in the bottom right-hand corner. It is far clearer than 480p.

 

[lcloo]

The first step towards Mainland and Taiwan unification is in economy which is very much in good progress, then the social integration with NGO and family visits from both sides to disperse the differences in each other's perception, or rather, to understand each other better.

When people are proud to be part of a Greater China instead of being Taiwanese or mainlander, unification would be close. Taiwan government is elected, so ultimately it is the people of Taiwan who would vote for unification decision, the government and military have to listen.

Unfortunately this is not going to happen in the next decade or two. Many things in mainland have to change to convince the people in Taiwan, the most obvious is the political system, then there is the civil laws, and other things that affect the everyday lives of normal people.

Hong Kong provides a good example, adopting the similar one country two system will minimized people's anxiety. Hopefully, unification will be done before we kick our buckets.

 

[Nomenclature]

War is neither necessary or desirable, but I do believe the unification process will go nowhere without the mainland having a clear will to use force and a military powerful enough to credibly deter the U.S from interfering in any potential conflict.

Other than a powerful military, political reform in Hong Kong is also very important. The central government promised universal suffrage in Hong Kong beginning in 2017 and we need to make sure the transition is on time and smooth. That will show the world, in particular Taiwan, that unlike certain democracies who have no respect for any form of government different from itself, the authoritarian government in China can not just tolerate but indeed promoting other form of governance in its territory.

Second, restoration of traditional Chinese characters on the mainland is also important. We don't need those bastardized simplified characters to remind every single Taiwanese visiting China of the cross-straits division.

Then there's the political reform. I don't believe full democracy should be a pre-condition, but transparency and rule of law both are. More democracy on local level is perhaps not necessary but certainly helpful, we can even invite political parties on Taiwan to set up branches on the mainland and contest in local elections in southern China.

 

[Martian2]

Let's take a look at today's Hong Kong under the "one country, two systems" structure.

Please make sure to select 720p in the bottom right-hand corner. It is far clearer than 480p.

 

[siegecrossbow]

What did everyone think of Lian Zhan's European Union style alliance between Taiwan and China?

 

[twocents]

no war, no unification, simple

I for one share that view. Peaceful unification would be ideal but it is a pipe dream. DPP advocates overt independence and the KMT favors covert independence. The difference between the two parties is rhetorical not fundamental. That leaves forcible reunification as the the only viable alternative.

 

[below_freezing]

I for one share that view. Peaceful unification would be ideal but it is a pipe dream. DPP advocates overt independence and the KMT favors covert independence. The difference between the two parties is rhetorical not fundamental. That leaves forcible reunification as the the only viable alternative.

i agree, the proposals that "being better" would make taiwan want to reunify with us is silly.

first, it presupposes that taiwan and its system is already "superior" to us, and we should be the ones "catching up" and "accomodating" them.

secondly, it presupposes that taiwan's system is not only superior but desireable, and good for all of china. they fail to see the connections between the mafia and the government in taiwan, and let's put it this way, if taiwan's system was so superior, it wouldn't have badly lost the war, and it wouldn't have a lower GDP/capita than hong kong, south korea and japan, despite intensive US assistance.

finally, it also presupposes that this "friendly gesture" to a group of terrorists on taiwan (what else do you call a military force that has taken your land, occupies it, runs a parallel administration and has a military alliance with your biggest foreign competitor?) will gather their support.

indeed, may i boldly propose that no matter how much we accomodate them, they'll never see us as equals? how many people from even hong kong honestly see people from the mainland as equals?

 

[siegecrossbow]

i agree, the proposals that "being better" would make taiwan want to reunify with us is silly.

first, it presupposes that taiwan and its system is already "superior" to us, and we should be the ones "catching up" and "accomodating" them.

Agreed. There is no "good"/"bad" political systems and only political systems that suit a nation/area's needs.

secondly, it presupposes that taiwan's system is not only superior but desireable, and good for all of china. they fail to see the connections between the mafia and the government in taiwan, and let's put it this way, if taiwan's system was so superior, it wouldn't have badly lost the war, and it wouldn't have a lower GDP/capita than hong kong, south korea and japan, despite intensive US assistance.

Just want to point out that Chiang kai-shek was about as Democratic as Hitler's pillow. His eldest son studied in Moscow and was at one time a devote Communist (read some of his letters to his father protesting the killing of Communists in China) and his second son was briefly enrolled in the German military and went as far as participate in the German occupation of Austria. His is also known for his harsh crackdowns of opposition/free speech and eventually made his son the president of Taiwan. I think the Taiwanese political system changed a great deal since the days of Chiang and suits Taiwan a lot more than it did in the past.

finally, it also presupposes that this "friendly gesture" to a group of terrorists on taiwan (what else do you call a military force that has taken your land, occupies it, runs a parallel administration and has a military alliance with your biggest foreign competitor?) will gather their support.

I think calling them terrorist is perhaps a bit too harsh but I do think that the subservience that some of them, particularly the DPP, displays towards the U.S. and Japan is absolutely disgusting. However you also have to keep in mind that there are many hot-blooded Taiwanese as well. Take a look at their struggle (sometimes joining hands with their mainland brethren) at Senkaku Island.

indeed, may i boldly propose that no matter how much we accomodate them, they'll never see us as equals? how many people from even hong kong honestly see people from the mainland as equals?

Not the best of examples. Now a days there are many in Beijing and Shanghai who look down at the rural folks as well. You also forget that there are many Taiwanese/Hongkong people who respect mainlanders as well (there are two prominent examples on this forum ).

 

[akinkhoo]

What did everyone think of Lian Zhan's European Union style alliance between Taiwan and China?

unacceptable, there must be only 1 sovereignty of China. Taipei can go as far as to demand that they continue to maintain their own army, but they cannot be allow to be a state, they must be "in name" a part of china like HK.

besides, China will are keeping "the union" option for larger entities like ASEAN, japan and korea. they have already concluded half of the trading agreement needed to become a union. Taiwan is not in the radar, the only way from them to be part of the union is to be part of china.