The Los Angeles Times
Date: Mar 01, 2018
By: Ralph Jennings
Some Taiwanese have long feared that China would try to take back the island by force.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, shown watching a live-fire military drill in May 2017, recently called on other nations to ensure that the island remains autonomous. (Sam Yeh / AFP/Getty Images)
This week China tried a far gentler approach: measures to make it easier for Taiwanese to invest, work and study on the mainland.
Still, the 31 measures unnerved the government in Taipei, which accused China of trying to lure away talent while undermining Taiwanese political identity.
Those reactions from Taipei come less than a week before China’s legislature begins annual meetings that normally include a sweeping, high-level statement on the future of Beijing’s ever thorny relations with Taiwan. They also follow nearly two years of diplomatic and economic pressure from Beijing against Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
China claims sovereignty over democratic and self-ruled Taiwan, viewing it as a rogue province. China insists on eventual unification, by force if needed, despite Taiwanese government polls showing that 70% to 80% of Taiwanese people prefer their autonomy.
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