Chances of China-Taiwan unification bleak

There is a near consensus across the Taiwanese public spectrum that the nature of communist rule in the mainland is highly unlikely to change in near future.

One of the constant foreign policy objectives of communist China has been to unify self-governing, democratic Taiwan with the mainland. Chinese President Xi Jinping has been saying this goal "must be fulfilled." Will Beijing ever be able to accomplish it?

Observers say chances of China-Taiwan unification are bleak. In the initial years of Taiwan coming into existence, the leadership of the Kuomintang, the nationalist party that ruled China before it fell to the Communist Party and relocated itself to Taipei in 1949, seemed to calculate that some day the nature of communist rule would change in the mainland leading it (KMT) to return to Beijing and rule the whole of China.

The thinking of the new generation of political elites in Taiwan is very different. The KMT is too faction-ridden to assert that Cross-Strait integration is an "irresistible historical trend." The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) controls both the presidency and the Legislative Yuan in Taiwan today. It is against the reunification with communist China.

There is a near consensus across the Taiwanese public spectrum that the nature of communist rule in the mainland is highly unlikely to change in near future. Taiwan must not move in a direction that would lead it the fate Hong Kong has had after becoming part of communist China.

The observers add there is indeed no space for freedom and democracy in contemporary China. This could be discerned in the Chinese reaction on the recent death of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. During his rule (1985-1991), Gorbachev brought an end to a repressive communist regime in the then Soviet Union, opening the path to a different style of government in the region.

World leaders naturally paid rich tributes to Gorbachev on his demise. US President Joe Biden hailed him as a "rare leader" with "remarkable vision." He said his were "the acts of a rare leader" that led to "a safer world and greater freedom for millions of people". Prime Minister Narendra Modi described him as "one of the leading statesmen of the 20th century who left an indelible mark on the course of history."

In contrast, at a routine press conference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry just said, "Gorbachev made a positive contribution to the normalisation of relations between China and the Soviet Union." The reasons for this reaction are not far to seek. Communist China has never been appreciative of the dissolution the Soviet Union. It has authored thousands of studies to learn from this some crucial lessons to retain its own sole political power in the country.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.