Since the conclusion of the presidential election in Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been making adjustments in its policy towards Taiwan to accommodate the new party's attitude regarding cross-strait relations.
Presidential winner, Ma Ying-Jeou, maintains the opinion of "ultimate unity," which seems to ease China's apprehension about war across the Taiwan Strait. However, the CCP is more tentative about the ultimate unity: which would see freedom and democracy in mainland China.
In fact, with any democratic state, the personal will of the president is not of primary importance. Unification or separation would be determined by a referendum. To those Taiwanese who have tasted the sweetness of freedom and democracy, why would they relinquish their rights, only to become prisoners controlled by the one party dictatorship of the mainland?
During China's 2006 National People's Congress and the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, Hu Jintao expressed his willingness to engage those who leaned toward independence, advocated for Taiwan independence, or even actively participated in activities to promote Taiwan independence. He welcomed dialogue to confirm their willingness to unify. I am not convinced that Hu Jintao is oblivious to the fact that no political leader can make such a decision for the people of Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party might be able to form alliances with political leaders in Taiwan, but that's about it. They are not like the political leaders of authoritarian states who appear to represent the public, but are under no obligation to conform to the people's will.
That is to say, from the day Taiwan embarked on the path of democracy, the irrevocable scenario across the Taiwan Strait was already in place. If Taiwan was governed by a dictatorship, all the CCP would have to do would be to persuade the individual leader of Taiwan. However, since Chiang Ching-Kuo lifted the ban on forming opposition political parties and on a free press, and especially since the first direct presidential election in 1996, the Chinese Communist Party will have to convince the majority of Taiwanese (at least over two thirds of them) to unify Taiwan with China. With the historical legacy of massacres and corruption of the CCP, talk is not enough to convince people of the merits of unification.
Therefore, the Chinese Communist Party's desire to unify the political leaders in Taiwan simply means they are ignorant or naïve about what they can accomplish.
Some might believe that the mainland is generous in proposing to govern a country using two systems, in which Taiwan gets to maintain freedom and democracy while China maintains authority over national defense and diplomacy.
Herein lies the problem: the darkness of tyranny fears the light of freedom.
If cross-strait reunification did indeed occur, the mainlanders would wonder why there is democracy, freedom, an independent legal system, human rights, and direct elections in Taiwan, and question why they don't have the same benefits. Would it not be discrimination by the central government?
Hong Kong, with its freedoms and legal system, has been a troublesome headache to the Chinese Communist Party. The democratic Taiwan would dissolve the lie of the Chinese Communist Party's so-called socialist democracy and socialist legality. The pressure to abandon a dictatorship would dramatically increase. Consequently, the CCP would be compelled to suppress and conceal its criminal history to the point where it could no longer oppress the people.
More evident now is that Ma Ying-Jeou's stance regarding "No talks about reunification unless victims of the June 4 massacre are granted redress" has made it clear to mainlanders that the roadblock to reunification is not Taiwan, it is the authoritarian dictatorship of the mainland regime. When discussing reunification, the excuse of nationalism is no longer a valid justification for the Chinese Communist Party. One simple statement exposes the attitude of the CCP, "We'd rather give up reunification than grant redress for the June 4 massacre."
Many Chinese do not realize that the ruling status of the Chinese Communist Party always prevails over national sovereignty and territorial integrity. In 1999, Jiang Zemin unlawfully allocated millions of square kilometers of territory to Russia. Why would the regime give up its autocratic power over Taiwan's territory of 34,000 square kilometers, allowing people to expose and criticize its bloody act?
The Chinese Communist Party has maintained its ruling status, through economic growth in the material world and nationalism in the ideological sense. It is predicted that China is likely to face huge economic problems this year. The decline in real estate and the stock market, export stagnation, and rising costs have all made Wen Jiabao apprehensive. Ma Ying-Jeou's new official status further exposes the nationalism cover of the Chinese communists. This year, the CCP will face troubles, one after another.
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