[xtypo_dropcap]T[/xtypo_dropcap]he Republic of China (Taiwan) parliament, on Dec. 7, placed human rights above economic advantage and, in doing so, struck a blow for the continued independence of the ROC from communist China.
Taiwan’s parliament passed a resolution that calls for banning those who have violated human rights in mainland China from visiting Taiwan. In doing so, the parliament followed the lead of nine city or county councils that had passed similar resolutions.
United Front
The passing of these resolutions occurs within the context of increasing pressure placed on Taiwan by the mainland regime.
The Chinese regime is notorious for the military pressure it places on Taiwan, as each year more advanced missiles, planes, and naval forces target the island. The regime attempts to bring such overwhelming force potentially to bear that resistance to any invasion would be futile.
But the CCP has a parallel strategy for putting pressure on Taiwan, one that is perhaps less well-understood—the united front. The CCP employed the united front strategy in its conquest of China.
United front work seeks to make those who are not opposed to the CCP—or even those who are against the CCP—work for the CCP’s interests, knowingly or unknowingly. In recent years, the CCP has been very active with united front work in Western countries.
As China’s economy has grown, Taiwan’s economy has become increasingly dependent on mainland China, and the CCP has taken more aggressive steps toward Taiwan. Included in these steps are the large delegations China sends to Taiwan.
Led by the Party chiefs and government heads of provinces and cities, the delegations bring with them the possibility of big contracts and the promise of future collaboration.
In addition, many Taiwan media have already been bought or infiltrated. Taiwan’s own media often reinforce the seductive appeal of joining the mainland.
The united front work gains leverage from the economy while the media outlets add their voices—the pressure is so huge that no one would seem to be able to resist.
Soft Power
In recent years, the CCP has been playing with soft power. This strategy encounters at least one major stumbling block: The CCP still adheres to communist ideology as the foundation of the regime. Yet the CCP knows that with the abandonment of communism in the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe 20 years ago, communism can no longer deceive the Chinese people, much less the world.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
