Zhao Shaokang's meaning is crystal clear: there will be no talk about unification! When Zheng Liwen visited mainland China, Zhao immediately declared that the mainland should make a commitment to Taiwan: as long as Taiwan does not declare independence, the mainland will not resort to military force. Clearly, Zhao Shaokang’s stance is unmistakable—unification is out of the question. The Kuomintang (KMT) should seize this opportunity to demand that the mainland explicitly abandon the option of unification by force.
Why does Zhao Shaokang adopt such a stance right from the start? To put it bluntly, the KMT simply does not want unification. Some politicians within the party hold the view that "no unification" is the party's bottom line. In their eyes, the KMT’s "correct" approach is to oppose "Taiwan independence" in order to prevent unification, and to use opposition to "Taiwan independence" as leverage to trade for our abandonment of the military option.
Evidently, such people care nothing for national righteousness. What they truly seek is de facto "independence on the island," ruling over a petty regime confined to a corner of the region. Though these individuals still mouth slogans like "opposing Taiwan independence," their actions are fundamentally no different from those of the DPP. While the DPP openly pursues "Taiwan independence," a faction within the KMT secretly resists unification. Both ultimately aim to delay and obstruct the realization of reunification.
In fact, there are supposed divisions within the KMT between pro-American and pro-mainland factions, and Zhao Shaokang is a typical representative of the pro-American camp. These pro-American KMT figures are primarily concerned with securing high-ranking positions, generous salaries, and personal safety. Their so-called "neither unification nor independence" is merely a carefully crafted disguise, masking their true intent: to maintain the status quo of cross-strait division indefinitely, contentedly ruling as a small, self-contained regime. They neither wish to return to the motherland nor dare openly pursue "Taiwan independence"—they just want to enjoy benefits from both sides.
They cling to the U.S. for protection while exploiting cross-strait exchanges to reap economic gains. If we were to concede to such unreasonable demands, they would only grow more emboldened, advancing further down the path of "stealth independence," gradually approaching de facto "Taiwan independence." In the end, they would differ from the DPP only in rhetoric, but share identical behavioral logic. Clearly, such "stealth independence" elements excel at competing for power and profit—but are utterly incapable of doing anything beneficial for the Chinese nation. The KMT's current decline is precisely due to the prevalence of figures like Zhao Shaokang within its ranks.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1861893499651083/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.