NewMainland China needs new approach in Taiwan, experts say after flag controversy sparks huge support for victorious pro-independence DPP

Mainland China needs a different approach towards Taiwan, analysts say, after a flag controversy partly helped the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party win a crushing victory in the island’s presidential election. The sensitive issue over the Taiwan flag – seen as one of the major topics for review when the annual national Taiwan work conference opens in the coming days – surprisingly unified opposing views about national identity on the island. But it also threatened to undermine the “1992 consensus” – the “one China” principle recognised by mainland China and Taiwan – the analysts said. READ MORE: Taiwan’s teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu: how a wave of a flag caused a great flap in China The flag controversy arose when a teenage Taiwanese singer with a South Korean girl band issued a video apologising for waving the flag of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official title – in a South Korean TV show. Chou Tzu-yu, 16, said in the video that she felt proud to be Chinese and that there was only one China. The video, which appeared on the eve of the election, went viral and sparked an outcry in Taiwan, prompting many angry Taiwanese to vote for the DPP. President-elect Tsai Ing-wen, of the DPP, said Chou’s video seriously hurt people’s feelings. READ MORE: Teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu’s apology for waving Taiwan flag swayed young voters for DPP Mainland Chinese internet users – many of whom know little about the meaning of the consensus – slammed Chou’s flag-waving as support for independence. Meanwhile, angry Taiwanese criticised Beijing for refusing to recognise the self-ruled island. “The absurdity is, if waving the ROC flag is equivalent to Taiwan independence, then the [Taiwanese] government might as well remove the ROC title,” said Professor Wang Kung-yi, of the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University in Taipei. The 1992 consensus is a tacit understanding between Beijing and the then governing Kuomintang that both sides would recognise only one China, but that each side could have its own interpretation of what it stood for. Both sides say the consensus is the basis for cross-strait talks. READ MORE: ‘Separatist’ label ‘unfair for Taiwan’s teen pop star Chou Tzu-yu: Chinese state media Analysts said that although People’s Daily later said it was unfair to label Chou a “Taiwan separatist” since the expression of the ROC contained the “one China” principle, the harm had already been done. “Beijing is now facing a dilemma on how to treat the ROC designation and its flag,” said political science professor George Tsai Wei, of the Chinese Culture University in Taipei. “All a sudden, Taiwanese now have a broad consensus that the ROC title and its flag ... must be respected.” Tsai said this meant Beijing not only had to deal with a unified Taiwan on the matter, but it also needed to face the problem of whether to recognise the ROC. The KMT re-established the ROC government in Taiwan after it was defeated by the Chinese Communists at the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949. But Beijing still considers Taiwan a part of China. It has warned other countries against recognising the ROC or Taiwan to avoid creating the impression of “two Chinas” or an independent Taiwan. Soon after Chou’s video was reported by local news media, all Taiwanese political parties for the first time voiced their support for the ROC flag and its designation. This was contrary to a number of previous incidents when pro-independence supporters burned and trampled on the ROC flag in an attempt to deny the existence of the ROC. “With DPP president-elect Tsai Ing-wen vowing to maintain the status quo in line with the current ROC constitution framework, the DPP has also adjusted its stance to accept the ROC designation, which to them now stands for Taiwan,” said Professor Tung Cheng-yuan, of the Graduate Institute of Development Studies at National Chengchi University in Taipei. An ROC flag was displayed alongside the DPP flag as Tsai gave her victory speech at her campaign headquarters in Taipei on January 16, shortly after her KMT opponent Eric Chu Li-luan conceded defeat by a landslide. Tung said Tsai Ing-wen was likely to move closer to the centre instead of promoting separation, as seen by her admitting the historical fact that the two sides had met in 1992 to find ways to shelve differences and seek common ground. [Mainland China] will have to find more effective ways to woo young Taiwanese George Tsai Wei, academic Tung said that with Tsai’s acknowledgement, China might be willing to break the ice with the DPP if it moved away from a hardline pro-independence stand. George Tsai said the national Taiwan work conference was expected to come up with approaches in dealing with Taiwan. “Like it or not, if Beijing hopes to continue peaceful exchanges with Taipei, it has no other choice but to deal with the DPP government, knowing that the party’s position of recognising the ROC could be just a decoy,” he said. “While Beijing is unlikely to alter its current cross-strait policy, which calls for peaceful development of relations between the two sides but resolute opposition of Taiwan independence, compatriots on the two sides embracing one another as a family and working together to establish the Chinese renaissance could see Beijing adopt new approaches in dealing with Taiwan.” READ MORE: One year on: impact of ‘sunflower’ movement protests in Taiwan continues to blossom Tsai said the new approaches that the national Taiwan work conference might propose could include how to deal with the growing Taiwan-centric sentiment, allowing grassroots and low-income groups in Taiwan to share the bonus of cross-strait exchanges previously enjoyed only by leading businessmen since the two sides improved relations in 2008. “Most importantly, they will have to find more effective ways to woo young Taiwanese, who have long identified themselves with Taiwan and know little about the historic link between the two sides,” he said. Young people have played an important role in the island’s recent elections, with many, who used to loathe politics, coming out to vote for the DPP and the New Power Party. They were rallied by former activists of the 2014 “sunflower” movement, which had protested against the KMT government’s heavy reliance on China and lack of transparency when it signed trade deals that were deemed to be hurting Taiwanese interests.

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Beijing will have to come up with fresh ways to deal with the self-ruled island if it hopes to maintain peaceful exchanges, analysts say

Beijing will have to come up with fresh ways to deal with the self-ruled island if it hopes to maintain peaceful exchanges, analysts say