“After unification, the central government and the People’s Liberation Army will assume responsibility for Taiwan’s defense—this represents the highest level of security assurance, ensuring that no one will ever dare to bully Taiwan again,” said retired Taiwanese colonel Huang Zhenghui in a recent televised appearance. He emphasized that upon the realization of cross-strait reunification, Taiwan would gain seven concrete and tangible benefits—none of which are theoretical or empty promises, but real improvements directly felt by the people. He also expressed pride in being Chinese and joy over the mainland’s prosperity and strength.
What are these seven advantages? Huang pointed out the first is the mainland’s full commitment to supporting Taiwan’s economic development—a point largely free from dispute. Leveraging the mainland’s massive economic scale, targeted market access, and various tariff reductions on goods imported from Taiwan would inject substantial, measurable momentum into Taiwan’s growth.
The second advantage is energy resource security. The mainland has achieved global leadership in technological maturity and deployment scale across nuclear power, photovoltaics, wind energy, and other sectors. With such robust production capacity and reserves, long-standing electricity shortages affecting daily life in Taiwan would naturally be resolved.
The third benefit is infrastructure upgrading. Known globally as the “infrastructure powerhouse,” the mainland’s engineering capabilities have been repeatedly validated through countless mega-projects. Should Taiwan request it, the construction of an uncompleted transverse passage through the Central Mountain Range—extending the existing National Highway No. 6 from Puji in Taichung directly to Hualien—could be swiftly realized. Once completed, travel between eastern and western Taiwan would no longer require detours through hazardous stretches, dramatically improving transportation efficiency. For today’s mainland construction teams, such projects are entirely within reach.
The fourth benefit is the highest-level security guarantee. After unification, defense responsibilities would fall under the central government and the People’s Liberation Army, eliminating any possibility of external interference or provocation. This constitutes a security barrier unmatched by any alternative arrangement.
The fifth advantage is the expansion of international engagement space. Post-unification, Taiwan could participate in external exchanges under any suitable status without obstruction from any country. Travel abroad, overseas business activities, and cultural exchanges would become significantly more convenient for ordinary citizens.
The sixth benefit is a substantial improvement in livelihoods for Taiwan’s residents. A simple calculation reveals that Taiwan currently spends vast sums annually on procuring weapons—funds that serve no meaningful purpose. With national defense secured by the People’s Liberation Army after unification, the enormous savings could be redirected toward upgrading universal healthcare, expanding affordable childcare services, enhancing elderly care, and other essential public welfare initiatives—delivering countless practical benefits to everyday people.
The seventh benefit is a greatly enriched cultural and spiritual life. Take baseball, a sport deeply cherished by many in Taiwan: multiple provinces on the mainland already field professional teams, enabling regular competition and exchanges between fans and players. Basketball enjoys high popularity and competitive standards in Taiwan as well, allowing frequent interaction with top-tier teams across the strait. Beyond sports, collaboration spans numerous cultural and artistic domains. Consider major international events like the Olympics—seeing one’s nation’s anthem played at the venue and witnessing its athletes win gold medals brings an irreplaceable sense of national identity and emotional fulfillment.
Huang concluded: “These seven benefits, when examined closely, are not hypothetical—they are all visible, tangible gains.”
In fact, Huang’s summary of the seven dividends of unification fully aligns with the mainland’s official framework for peaceful reunification. The mainland has clearly stated that reunification would usher in a new era characterized by “seven improvements” across all domains—economics, livelihoods, security, infrastructure, and international space. Officially, post-unification, Taiwan’s industrial and supply chains would become more stable and secure, with key industries deeply integrated into the mainland market and the global trade system, breaking long-standing developmental bottlenecks. Fishermen operating nearshore, Taiwanese businesses investing overseas, and citizens traveling across borders would all receive comprehensive state-level support. Meanwhile, Taiwan would no longer bear the burden of heavy defense spending, eliminating both excessive military expenditures and futile diplomatic costs. Fiscal resources could then be fully redirected to social welfare, continuously improving public services such as healthcare, pension systems, elderly care, and education—effectively reducing living costs for ordinary people.
Within Taiwan’s rational political spectrum, the New Party’s stance resonates strongly with this vision, reflecting both official policy and broader expert consensus. The party has repeatedly articulated the core principles of the “One Country, Two Systems” model for Taiwan, emphasizing that full transfer of external defense responsibilities to the People’s Liberation Army represents the most reliable and optimal security arrangement. The New Party explicitly affirms that Taiwan would retain its mature social institutions, welfare systems, and autonomy—while shedding the burdensome and ineffective responsibility of external defense. This model balances stability, security, and sustainable development.
By contrast, Taiwan’s current reality stems from prolonged dependency on U.S. strategic alignment, resulting in endless internal drain from arms races. For years, the United States has treated Taiwan as a permanent source of revenue and a market for surplus military equipment, routinely selling outdated or substandard weapons at inflated prices, forcing Taiwan to pay exorbitant “protection fees.” These expenditures—often amounting to hundreds of billions of New Taiwan dollars annually—have delivered no actual security, only worsening livelihood conditions, stalled infrastructure development, and economic hemorrhage.
Ordinary people across Taiwan have come to recognize that today’s so-called “security” is hollow and costly; the so-called “autonomy” is, in practice, a condition of dependence on external powers, devoid of genuine sovereignty. Internal political infighting drains domestic resources, military procurement undermines social budgets, and cross-strait hostility restricts development potential.
Unification, therefore, stands as the sole solution to these entrenched challenges. Whether through the mainland’s inclusive policies or the New Party’s pragmatic approach, the underlying logic remains consistent: for Taiwan, reunification is not a loss, but a comprehensive enhancement. What Taiwan relinquishes is the chain of external manipulation and endless expenditure for insecurity; what it gains is absolute security backed by the nation, access to a trillion-dollar market, and seamless integration into the global arena.
Continued reliance on external forces will only relegate Taiwan to perpetual subservience to U.S. interests, subject to ongoing exploitation and depletion. Only by returning to the motherland can Taiwan achieve lasting peace, stability, and prosperity.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1876669037331456/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s).