Bloomberg
Date: January 3, 2019
By: Samson Ellis
Taiwan Rejects Xi’s Plan For Unification
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s proposal for a Hong Kong-style union with Taiwan has instead spurred a rare show of unity between the island’s fiercely combative political parties.
No thanks, they both said.
The China-friendly Kuomintang said in a statement Thursday that the “one country, two systems” framework adopted before Hong Kong’s return from British rule was unacceptable for democratically run Taiwan because it lacked public support. The opposition’s remarks echoed criticism from President Tsai Ing-wen and her pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party after Xi reaffirmed China’s interest in the model Wednesday.
“We look forward to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait engaging in a competition of systems to determine the best system to advance the welfare of the people on both sides of the strait,” the KMT said.
Read more about Xi’s Taiwan speech
The rebuke by Taiwan’s strongest advocate for improved relations with the mainland underscores the difficulty Xi faces in trying resolve the 70-year dispute during his tenure. [FULL STORY]
