The 1992 consensus reached by China and Taiwan has always been a weak agreement. The mainland needs to strengthen it, win the Taiwanese public’s consent and design a ‘one country, two systems’ framework specific to Taiwan.
China’s history of ‘humiliation’ is not conducive to its new-found role in world affairs. A China that wishes to enjoy internal peace and friendly external relations must refrain from nurturing a sense of victimhood.
America’s use of Taiwan as a bargaining chip in its tussle with China is upsetting the status quo of cross-strait relations.
The trade stand-off with the US is a test of China’s capabilities. It is a hurdle it must overcome to realise its goal of national rejuvenation and its vision of a ‘community of common destiny’.
The latest amendments, of which the controversial removal of presidential term limits was one, show a newly confident nation following its own path.
America sees China and the rest of the world through a ‘friend or foe’ mentality that squanders opportunities for cooperation.
US inability to adapt to China’s rise may pose a serious security challenge, as a more suspicious America abandons its strategic patience and opts for more risky strategies to stifle China’s rejuvenation.
There is a grievous mismatch between the reality of a rising China and growing cross-border integration, and Hong Kong legal elites’ arrogant belief that the common law system is immune to change.
Freedom of speech does not protect independence advocacy because it is unconstitutional in Hong Kong, and the uproar over pro-independence posters on university campuses illustrates the consequences of indulging such acts of defiance
