Estrangement between two sides is too profound, says Raymond Burghardt

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/04
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A peaceful unification between Taiwan and China is beyond the bounds of

possibility, said Raymond Burghardt, former chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).

The former U.S. diplomat made the remarks at an event held by The National Committee on American Foreign Policy, on Monday (Dec. 2) in Washington. He was addressing cross-strait issues, reported Voice of America.

“It’s impossible to see a peaceful unification of Taiwan with China,” said Burghardt, citing profound estrangement between the two sides and a strong sense of a separate identity in Taiwan. “I think people in Beijing have realized that,” he added.

The question is now “what kind of coercion is necessary?” Burghardt stressed. He believes the Chinese government has been mulling a list of options, including disinformation and information warfare, as well as military means “if it has to go to the level.”    [FULL  STORY]