China seeks to ‘localize’ Taiwan with Fujian: expert

Thirteen measures that China’s Fujian Province says would benefit Taiwanese appear to be part of an effort by Beijing to “localize” the Taiwan Strait by asserting that Taiwan is a province of China, an expert has said.

While a group of 17 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers were visiting Beijing from Friday to Sunday last week, Fujian announced measures it said would benefit Taiwanese, including helping Taiwanese in China handle reimbursements of medical expenses under Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system.

Another of the measures was a “Fujian-Matsu City Pass” for residents of Lienchiang County (Matsu).

Tzeng Wei-feng (曾偉?), an assistant research fellow in National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations, said the moves reflected China’s efforts to localize the Taiwan Strait and claim that Taiwan is a province of China, only requiring coordination between provinces, not countries.

“I believe these measures will be somewhat appealing to residents of Kinmen County and Matsu … but for residents on Taiwan proper, I think they will have less interest,” Tzeng said.

Beijing also announced measures it said would benefit Taiwan during the KMT delegation’s visit, including allowing tourists from Fujian once again to travel to Matsu, and resuming access to China’s market for some Taiwanese agricultural and fishery products.

Analysts have interpreted the measures as a move by Beijing to pressure president-elect William Lai (賴清德) ahead of his May 20 inauguration.

National Taiwan Normal University professor Huang Hsin-hao (黃信豪) said the measures could be seen as a signal to Lai, which might influence his inaugural speech to “not lean too much toward Taiwanese independence.”

China’s moves were also related to the situation in the Legislative Yuan where none of the two major parties hold an absolute majority, allowing Beijing some leeway to take a softer approach, said Huang, who specializes in Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politics.

Echoing Huang’s views was Chao Chun-shan (趙春山), an honorary professor with the Graduate Institute of China Studies at Tamkang University.

Chao said that Beijing has put pressure on Lai’s incoming administration by proposing measures and conveying messages with the aim of eliciting a response.

“Beijing hopes that Lai will provide a more positive and proactive response regarding cross-strait relations in his speech on May 20 … and not mention phrases that could easily escalate hostilities between the two sides,” Chao said.

Beijing’s actions were also intended to demonstrate to the US its sincerity in improving relations across the Taiwan Strait, especially after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to China from Wednesday to Friday last week, he said.

“The US hopes for dialogue between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and Beijing’s current message is that at least in terms of tourism and some other aspects, the two sides can have a discussion,” he added.

However, China also sent 12 military aircraft across the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Saturday last week, leaving many observers wondering why it would conduct military exercises while KMT Members were in Beijing.

Tzeng said it was part of a two-pronged strategy of the CCP involving different chains of command in China’s Taiwan Affairs Office and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.

If top CCP leaders, such as Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), perceive no substantial progress in cross-strait relations, they are unlikely to exert pressure on the Central Military Commission to cease military exercises around Taiwan, Tzeng said.