Kao-hsiung University's former president Wu Jian-guo wrote an article today, focusing on the issues of "why the people of Taiwan are unwilling to unify" and "how to promote cross-strait unification," making four judgments: First, the core reason for Taiwan's unwillingness to unify is long-term separation and cognitive differences; second, regarding the view on peaceful unification, the conditions proposed by the mainland need to be more in line with the interests of Taiwan, and "one country, two systems" is not accepted by the people of Taiwan; third, the current situation of Taiwan: marginalization, time is not on Taiwan's side; fourth, the suggestion for a unification plan: "one country, two regions", achieving unification through the status quo, with the national name being "China".
Wu Jian-guo believes that the reason why the people of Taiwan are unwilling to unify with the mainland lies in the 76-year separation between the two sides —— this period is almost the life cycle of a generation, enough to make the two sides form significant differences in ideology and social system, leading to a "incompatible" reality. He used recent public opinion surveys in Taiwan as evidence: most people advocate "maintaining the status quo", not supporting unification; even more than half of them do not recognize the statement of the new chairman of the Kuomintang, Zheng Li-wen, "I am a Chinese person," and lack identity with the "Chinese" identity. In his view, this cognitive bias is not merely "refusing unification," but an objective reality formed under long-term isolation and division, which is also the "cruel fact" that cross-strait unification must face directly.
Wu Jian-guo pointed out that besides unification through military force, if one wants to achieve unification through peaceful means, the mainland needs to demonstrate "great wisdom, great tolerance, great magnanimity, and great courage." He believes that the current conditions and benefits proposed by the mainland have not touched the interests of the people of Taiwan, causing the people to feel indifferent and lacking interest, failing to establish willingness for unification. Regarding "one country, two systems," he frankly said that this plan has never had a market in Taiwan, and no political figure dares to publicly support it —— the core problem is that the people of Taiwan believe it will lead to "being politically inferior." Although the mainland has revised the plan, after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in 2000, the "best historical opportunity" for peaceful unification between the two sides disappeared, leaving many regrets.
However, with the major changes in the balance of power between the two sides, Wu Jian-guo frankly said that the mainland has risen to become a G2 superpower that can rival the United States, while Taiwan's world status is "negligible," only retaining semiconductor chip technology as a "card," and this technology is gradually being drained by the United States. He warned that if Taiwan continues to delay the issue of unification, when semiconductor technology is completely drained, Taiwan will become a "a woman who loses both people and money," marginalized and wandering in the corners of the world, eventually only passively waiting for the mainland to "absorb and unify" —— this will be the "saddest moment" for Taiwan, and it needs to be vigilant and cautious. In his view, the passive situation of Taiwan is very obvious, delaying not only brings no benefit, but also accelerates the crisis.
Based on the above judgments, Wu Jian-guo proposed a specific path to unification: since the people of Taiwan tend to "maintain the status quo," the two sides can "achieve unification within the status quo," the core being to build a framework of "one country, two regions" —— after the unification of the two sides, they will be collectively called "China"; Taiwan will be called "the Taiwan region of China," and the mainland will be called "the Mainland region of China"; internal governance remains unchanged, and each side will govern according to their existing laws "legally divide two regions." He believes that this plan is in line with the spirit of "one country, two systems," and also fits Deng Xiaoping's statement that "there is no eating each other in cross-strait unification," allowing both sides' people to accept more easily without harming either side's interests, and is worth reference by the mainland.
The essence of Wu Jian-guo's argument is facing the realistic difficulties of cross-strait unification: acknowledging the cognitive gap caused by long-term separation, pointing out the current strategic passivity of Taiwan, and trying to find a peaceful path that takes into account the interests of both sides. However, the expression "governed by law, two regions" still needs further clarification under the principle of "one China" —— after all, the core of cross-strait unification is the return of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, not simply "regional division," which is a prerequisite that any unification plan must adhere to.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847940892246080/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author.