LOS ANGELES.–Greeting 73-year-old former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou for what he called a “family reunion,” 70-year-old Chinese President Xi Jinping extended the olive branch to counter, in the big picture, 81-year-old President Joe Biden’s belligerence toward Beijing. Biden has been busy building his anti-Communist China coalition in the Pacific Rim, enlisting Japan, South Korea, Philippines and Australia to confront growing Chinese dominance in Indo-China. Xi wanted to take the meeting with Ma, the first Taiwan president to ever visit the mainland, to stress ancestral and cultural ties to Mainland China, certainly with its Mandarin language and full range of cultural activities including its customs and cuisine. Biden’s meddling in the Pacific Rim has infuriated Xi, driving U.S.-Chinese relations to the worst level since the 1949 Maoist Revolution where Gen. Chaing Kai-sheck fled the China for the Island of Formosa.
No question that China and Taiwan have strong historic, cultural and ancestral ties, no matter how much the U.S. has influenced Taiwan over the last 74 years since Chaing led Chinese nationalists AKA the Republic of China, to the Island of Formosa where he set up a democratic-like government. Over the last 74 years with U.S. and other Western support, Taiwan established a proud democratic government enjoying much of the prosperity only recently in the last 30 years, witnessed in China. Xi knows that Mao Zedong opened up the doors to the West when he met with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and President Richard Nixon in 1973 to open up more open diplomatic ties. Biden stirred the pot in 2022 saying he would send U.S. troops to defend Taiwan from a possible Mainland invasion something Xi was suggesting due to U.S. meddling.
Xi wants to resolve the Taiwan situation amicably, something akin, but even more unique, to the way in which Communist China treats Hong Kong. After many fits-and-starts, the Hong Kong situation is finally settling down, letting domestic and foreign businesses stay relatively independent from Mainland China. Hong Kong, of course, is the historic seat of Cantonese language and culture, somewhat different from its Mandarin counterpart in Mainland China. So, theoretically, it should be easier to integrate Taiwan with Mainland China, if, for no other reason, they share closer cultural and language ties than Hong Kong. Meeting in the Great Hall of the People, Xi and Ma stressed the common ground between both sides of the Taiwan Strait, where so much cultural and ancestry is shared. Western officials ignore the context of Xi’s friendly meeting with Ma.
Xi’s meeting with Ma was peace overture to counteract Biden’s belligerent stance toward Communist China that made diplomatic relations more difficult. “External interference cannot stop the historic trend of reunion of the country and the family,” Xi said, serving notice to Biden to stop undermining Beijing-Taipei relations, but, more importantly, relations with other Pacific Rim countries developing defensive ties to the U.S. Xi emphasized the obvious that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese, from the same ancestry and culture. “There is no rancor that cannot be resolved, no problems that cannot be discussed, and no force that can separate us,” serving notice to Biden to stop meddling. Taiwan’s 67-year-old President Tsai Ing-wen has a standoffish attitude toward Beijing, largely because Xi, in the past, has sent his military into the Taiwan Strait.
U.S. and Taiwan have many strong business ties, especially with Taiwan Semiconductor, the world’s largest and most important chip producer, something the U.S. fears would fall into Mainland Communist hands. But Xi’s approach to Ma clearly shows he wants to get away from the belligerent approach to Chinese-Taiwan relations, something promoted by Biden. “If there is a war between the two sides, it will be unbearable for the Chinese people,” Ma said, referring to common ancestry and cultural ties. “Chinese on both sides of the strait absolutely have enough wisdom to handle all the disputes peacefully and avoid heading into conflict,” Ma said, echoing Xi’s own views that it’s about resolving a family dispute. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs-Council said it wished the Ma would have told Xi that the democratic independence of Taiwan is not negotiable with Beijing.
China’s Mainland Affairs-Council knows that bringing up Taiwan sovereignty would be a deal breaker for Xi but, more importantly, counterproductive, because Xi isn’t talking of invasion or war, he’s looking for a way to resolve the dispute between Taiwan and the Mainland. Xi thinks that the more the U.S. calls the shots, the more problems are created unnecessarily because in his mind the two cultures share a common heritage and destiny. Xi was upset with Biden in 2022 saying he would defend Taiwan because it violated the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, signed into law by former President Jimmy Carter. Taiwan knows that the treaty recognizes only one China, the one in Beijing. So, whatever sovereignty Taiwan claims, it’s not part of the U.S. Taiwan Relations Act, making reconciliation with Mainland China easier without U.S. meddling and interference.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
