Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Prior to the second Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit — which began on Wednesday last week — Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) warned that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long used such activities to package the promotion of its “united front” propaganda tactics. According to the MAC, the two summits were “held under the pretext of cultural and media exchanges to summon Taiwanese media and cultural figures to Beijing to lecture and instruct them.”

The MAC specifically named Want Want China Times Media Group as playing the role of the CCP’s “united front” pawn. Under the organization and mobilization of the group’s newspaper supplements, more than 10 Taiwanese writers attended a literary forum at the summit. Additionally, seven other Taiwanese writers donated manuscripts to the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature in Beijing.

US President Donald Trump created some consternation in Taiwan last week when he told a news conference that a successful trade deal with China would help with “unification.”

Although the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan, Trump’s language struck a raw nerve in Taiwan given his open siding with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression seeking to “reunify” Ukraine and Russia. On earlier occasions, Trump has criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the US’ chip industry and for relying too much on the US for defense, ominously presaging a weakening of US support for Taiwan. However, further examination of Trump’s remarks in their full context indicates that he was actually referring not to China and Taiwan, but to China-US cooperation and “unity” that he had discussed at length in a prior interview.