Mainland China adviser calls for ‘unilateral opening up’ to Taiwan for faster unification, cites Cold War West Germany
- Unifications are always won with ‘carrot and stick, and the carrot must be sweet’, policy adviser Zheng Yongnian tells cross-strait exchanges seminar
- West German policy of granting citizenship rights to those from the East is ‘very good’ model, Zheng says, warning of ‘dangerous cognitive war’ by US
A noted policy adviser has called on Beijing to adopt the integration policies of former West Germany and “unilaterally open” up the borders to all Taiwanese for speedier unification.
Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Shenzhen campus, made the call on Wednesday at a seminar focusing on academic and people-to-people exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.
“Unification will not fall from the sky automatically. In world history, unifications have always been achieved with a carrot and stick, and the carrot must be sweet,” Zheng told the seminar in Guangzhou, according to a transcript seen by the South China Morning Post.
Zheng has been widely seen as an influential adviser to the top leadership after his appearance in 2020 at an economic and social policies symposium of Beijing’s decision-making Politburo, chaired by President Xi Jinping. He is also a member of the Hong Kong Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group, formed last May.
