As fears of an invasion rise, China has vowed to create an “overwhelming strategic advantage” over its neighbor, Taiwan.
According to Liu Junchuan, the head of the liaison office of China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office, Beijing has adopted a “one country, two systems” approach he believes will be seen as favorable by the Taiwanese people.
“The swift development and massive changes in the mainland of the motherland are creating an increasingly strong attraction for the people of Taiwan,” he said.
“The contrast in power across the Taiwan Strait will become wider and wider, and we will have a full, overwhelming strategic advantage over Taiwan,” he continued. “The economic, political, social, cultural and military conditions for achieving the complete reunification of the motherland will become even more ample. The basic situation of the Taiwan Strait continuing to develop in a direction beneficial to us will not change, and time and momentum are on our side.”
The approach is similar to the one Beijing adopted with Hong Kong after it took over the enclave from the British in the late 1990s. There, Hong Kong operates independently of China with the exception of foreign policy and defense.
The Taiwanese government has insisted only its people can decide their fate and the terms of reunification, if it happens at all.
China has long considered Taiwan little more than a renegade province has has repeatedly vowed to reunify it with the mainland, by force if necessary. [source]
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