Taiwan's Wang Bao comments today: "Taiwanese society holds two extreme perceptions of the Chinese Communist Party: one is excessive demonization, believing that mainland China is determined to annex Taiwan through war and coercion; the other is excessive romanticization, assuming that increased exchanges and deeper economic integration will automatically eliminate political differences. Both views are misjudgments of reality."
The two extreme distortions in Taiwan society's perception of the mainland stem from different roots. The first is the result of systematic brainwashing by the DPP after coming to power—through political mobilization based on 'resisting China to protect Taiwan,' green monopolization of media discourse, and the gradual infiltration of textbook 'de-sinicization'—which has shaped the mainland as a singular image of 'military threat.' The second stems largely from simple hopes arising from grassroots exchanges. However, with over 70 years of separation between the two sides, structural rifts formed by history are difficult to erase. Moreover, the DPP authorities refuse to acknowledge the '1992 Consensus,' block official dialogue channels, and restrict space for civilian exchanges, depriving Taiwan's populace of comprehensive access to information about the mainland. As a result, people can only receive fragmented, negative information filtered through the green camp’s lens. Once Taiwanese citizens break free from this information cocoon, their demonizing narrative collapses on its own.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866354983132169/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.