Beijing’s Taiwan white paper: the messages for home and abroad
- The first document of its kind in two decades is aimed at international and domestic consumption, observers say
- White paper will chart China’s reunification process for next few years, analyst says
It clearly laid out China’s position, saying it would never allow any attempt to separate Taiwan but also would try its best to achieve unification by peaceful means.
“We will work with the greatest sincerity and exert our utmost efforts to achieve peaceful reunification,” the white paper said, adding again that the option to use force would not be renounced, and if adopted, would target external and separatist activities, rather than the people on the island.
“We will only be forced to take drastic measures to respond to the provocation of separatist elements or external forces should they ever cross our red lines.”
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The document was released on Wednesday jointly by the Taiwan Affairs Office and the Information Office, both under the State Council, Beijing’s cabinet.
It also said “some forces” in the United States were trying to “use Taiwan as a pawn against China”.
“Left unchecked, it will continue to escalate tension across the strait, further disrupt China-US relations, and severely damage the interests of the US itself,” it said.
Beijing’s first white paper on Taiwan was published in 1993, after the two sides reached the 1992 consensus, an oral agreement on the one-China principle. A second came in 2000, after Macau’s return to Chinese sovereignty, leaving Taiwan the only missing piece to the unification of China.
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The document was intended for the international community, according to Lu Xiang, a specialist on US-China relations at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“On the Taiwan issue, Beijing anticipates for the world to understand how it will resolve it and wants the world to see its stance … It will not give up on any opportunity for a peaceful reunification,” Lu said, adding that its position of prioritising peace without compromising sovereignty had been consistent since the 1970s.
Beijing’s assurances came after reports surfaced that business communities and authorities in countries in the region were drafting plans to evacuate assets and personnel in case of a conflict.
Japan and the Philippines are reportedly considering ways to transport their citizens out of mainland China and Taiwan if the tensions escalate.
Xie Maosong, a senior researcher at Tsinghua University’s National Institute of Strategic Studies, said the white paper had a domestic purpose as well, saying it was not just another policy document but “a well-prepared historical document for the Communist Party” to chart China’s reunification process for next few years.
“Traditionally, the Chinese government issues an official call to arms when embarking on key policy directions,” Xie said.
“While the military exercise marks the official start of the process of [cross-strait] reunification, the white paper is the call to arms, which tells the people within and outside China about the historical background, the situation now and China’s official stance.”
The document calls for more cross-strait communication, including the annual Straits Forum, where representatives from both sides would meet to discuss cultural and economic integration.
It also reiterated that the island would become a special administrative region of China, which was mentioned in the 1993 paper. Fleshing out plans for Beijing’s proposed governance model for the island, the paper said other countries would be allowed to continue developing cultural and economic relations with the island.
With the approval of the central government, those nations may set up consulates or other official and semi-official agencies in Taiwan, while international organisations will be allowed to establish offices. This is the first time a commitment about foreign consular relations with Taiwan has been made.
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The application of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong and Macau had had a “constructive impact” on resolving the Taiwan issue, the paper said.
“We will continue working with our compatriots in Taiwan to explore a two-systems solution to the Taiwan question and increase our efforts towards peaceful reunification,” it stated, adding the views and proposals of people on both sides of the strait will be considered.
It leaves defence arrangements open, meaning it is unknown whether the mainland would station troops on Taiwan or send officials to govern it post-unification.
“While giving Taiwan clearer promises on what benefits it can expect after reunification, [Beijing] left out details on the military and governance, indicating that those are for negotiation,” Xie said.
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But the white paper’s effect in the West will be limited, according to Deng Yuwen, commentator and former deputy editor of the Study Times, the Central Party School’s official newspaper.
Deng said the document tackled flawed comparisons between Taiwan and Ukraine – the former an island and the latter a sovereign state – but China hawks had already painted the island as “China’s Ukraine”.
“Pelosi’s trip has shown that Taiwan is increasingly becoming a major liability for Beijing,” said Deng, who suggested the island, like Hong Kong and Xinjiang, were pressure points that Western countries used to counter China.
“Since Beijing gained better controls over Hong Kong and Xinjiang, these two places are less effectively used in countering China. It is Taiwan that still has value.”
After returning to Washington, Pelosi stood by her decision to visit Taiwan and called Chinese President Xi Jinping a “scared bully” with “problems with his economy”.
“It was worth it,” she said in an interview with NBC. “We cannot allow the Chinese government to isolate Taiwan. They may say to them, ‘you can’t go to the World Health Organization’, but they’re not going to say who can go to Taiwan.”
However, she echoed US President Joe Biden’s lack of concern about military escalation in the region, saying “what the Chinese are doing is what they usually do”.
Alfred Wu, an associate professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, said Beijing’s promises to Taiwan were somewhat similar to those for Hong Kong.
“That is why Beijing needs to prove that one country, two systems worked well in Hong Kong before it can convince the Taiwanese people. I am not sure how many Taiwanese will find this prospect attractive,” Wu said.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council dismissed the white paper as “wishful thinking and disregarding facts”.
Wu said while the white paper was meant to communicate Beijing’s official stance to the Taiwanese people, it is also an effort to spell out its position to the people on the mainland, where nationalism is on the rise, with some demanding more drastic steps against the island.
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Beijing has to handle the backlash that rose from nationalistic sentiment,” he said. “Besides the drills, it also needs a comprehensive narrative to clarify its stance among its own people.”
Andy Mok, senior research fellow at the Centre for China and Globalisation, a non-governmental think tank in Beijing, said that while the Taiwanese people would prefer to maintain the status quo, they would also find life on a reunited island “more than tolerable”.
Beijing’s pursuit of a reunification would include informational, economic and military diplomacy. “The white paper is a part of this approach and is intended to work in concert with military drill and other tactics,” Mok said.
Additional reporting by William Zheng
