Taiwanese lawmakers slam advert promoting unification placed by member of semi-official body

Ad by John Peng, a director of a foundation Taipei appoints to deal with Beijing, says ‘peaceful unification’ is the best option

DPP legislator says Peng should instead call for Beijing to ‘renounce the use of force against us’

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Taiwan has faced growing intimidation from the mainland Chinese military as cross-strait tensions continue. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:27pm, 30 Mar 2022Updated: 2:56pm, 8 Apr 2022

A board member of Taiwan’s Straits Exchange Foundation, which deals with cross-strait affairs, has come under fire from lawmakers for running a full-page newspaper advertisement to promote “peaceful unification” with mainland China.

Bucking the growing popularity of keeping the self-ruled island outside Beijing’s control, John Peng, a director of the foundation, called for the government of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to reconsider its position.

“The war between Russia and Ukraine, starting in late February, has led many to think of the cross-strait tension and wonder if there would be war between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait,” said Peng in the advert, published on Tuesday in Taipei-based newspaper China Times.

“Taiwan is just 36,000 sq km in size and all its military facilities are concentrated on this tiny island. Should a war erupt, there is no need for the mainland to send even a single soldier to sack Taiwan.”

Peng said that the mainland could use missiles to destroy all military facilities, including airports, seaports, radar stations and command centres, then paralyse the island’s economy by destroying infrastructure and utilities, and blockade channels in and out for food and energy, to force Taipei to negotiate.