Xi's consolidation of power presages tougher stance on Taiwan: lawmakers
ROC Central News Agency
10/24/2022 01:49 PM
Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) The installation of loyalists to Xi Jinping (習近平) in China's top governing body means Beijing is likely to adopt more hardline policies on Taiwan, with deeper personal involvement from Xi himself, according to Taiwanese legislators.
Xi, 69, secured a precedent-breaking third five-year term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on Sunday, while also introducing a new 7-member Politburo Standing Committee comprised of his political allies.
Among the four new members of the Standing Committee is Shanghai party chief Li Qiang (李强), who served as Xi's chief of staff during his time as Zhejiang province party boss, and is expected to succeed the more reform-oriented Li Keqiang (李克强) as premier when his term ends next March.
The appointments, which were revealed after the closing of the Communist Party's 20th National Congress, were described to CNA by figures from across Taiwan's political spectrum as a bad omen for cross-strait relations.
Taiwan lamakers' responses
Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), said the new lineup showed that "the CCP's Central Committee has now become 'Xi central'."
"That is to say, over the next five years China's policies on Taiwan will be determined by Xi alone," Kuo said, adding that based on Xi's speech at the party congress, these policies will only become "more hardline and coercive."
Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗), legislative caucus convener of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), noted that the CCP had added anti-Taiwan independence language into its party constitution, while also packing its upper echelons with Xi's allies.
The amendment to the CCP Constitution, which was passed on Saturday, commits the party to "resolutely opposing and deterring" Taiwan independence and "resolutely implementing the policy of One Country, Two Systems."
Taken together, these moves show that the CCP's Taiwan policy will be personally guided by Xi, Tseng said.
This situation is "a little bit dangerous" for Taiwan, whose national security apparatus will have to "carefully evaluate its response and make sure that it is well-prepared," he added.
Meanwhile, Legislator Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) of the centrist Taiwan People's Party (TPP) said the CCP had used the party congress to make its "red lines" even clearer, thus reducing the possibility of using ambiguity as a means to reduce cross-strait tensions.
Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), legislative caucus whip of the New Power Party (NPP), said that while the specific consequences of Xi's increased control over the Communist Party are still unclear, "Taiwan cannot let its guard down."
For this reason, "the NPP has supported increasing the budget of the Ministry of National Defense, and immediately reviewing issues related to military training and the length of conscription," Chiu said.
(By Wang Cheng-chung and Matthew Mazzetta)
Enditem/ASG
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
