Editor's note: Promoting the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations is the correct way to maintain peace, promote common development, and benefit people on both sides of the Strait. Three experts share their views on the issue with China Daily.

DPP 'independence push' a serious threat to peace

By Zhu Songling

Known for proclaiming himself to be a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence", Lai Ching-te's "swearing-in" as leader of the Chinese island scheduled for Monday has triggered widespread concerns over the future of cross-Strait relations. There are fears that Lai may pursue his dream of "Taiwan independence" by leaning on the US' shoulder to counter the Chinese mainland. If he proceeds on this path after taking office, he would pose a serious threat to peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party on the island must realize that the path to "independence" is a dead end, doomed to failure. While the United States may use Taiwan as a pawn to check the mainland's peaceful rise and prevent the reunification of Taiwan with the motherland for its own narrow political ends, that does not mean unconditional US support for "Taiwan independence".

Why? Because even according to the US' "one-China policy", Taiwan is not a sovereign independent nation, and the US will not be able to establish "diplomatic relations" with Taiwan. Lai's attempts to strengthen ties with the US and establish formal relations with the US by visiting the White House to signal progress in the pursuit of "Taiwan independence" are delusional efforts and could bring disaster to Taiwan.

Although Washington has offered Taiwan some incentives, those are mainly motivated by its strategic competition with Beijing, instead of genuine support for "Taiwan independence".

Second, US politicians should refrain from sending the wrong signals to the Taiwan authorities, cease using Taiwan as a strategic bargaining chip against the mainland, and stop leveraging the Taiwan question to fulfill their political goals.

In recent years, some US politicians, driven by their electoral and other interests, have been using the "Taiwan card" more frequently, sending wrong signals to the Taiwan authorities. This shortsighted behavior not only exposes their duplicity, damaging the strategic trust between Beijing and Washington, but also gives wings to the DPP's fantasy of seeking "Taiwan independence", thereby escalating cross-Strait tensions.

The US should realize that a healthy Sino-US relationship benefits not only both countries and their peoples but also the world at large. There are a thousand reasons for the US to improve bilateral ties and not even one to worsen them. If the US continues to leverage the "Taiwan card" to push forward its geopolitical agenda, it will, instead of making any gains, plunge the region into greater danger and further deteriorate Sino-US relations.

The actions of the US and its allies in different regions of the globe have proven deeply problematic, significantly threatening peace. The Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts have raised regional tensions, subjecting local people to the horrors of war. And the US is squarely to blame for exacerbating these situations.

The US has not fostered peace in the Ukraine crisis, plunging countless civilians deeper into suffering. Similarly, US intervention in the Israel-Palestine conflict has destabilized multiple governments, spurred terrorism and brought death and distress to the Palestinian people.

In these times of global instability, the US should reconsider its foreign intervention policies, and stop interfering in cross-Strait affairs. The complexity, severity, and sensitivity of the Taiwan question are such that any external interference could lead to severe consequences.

If the US continues to send the wrong signals on the Taiwan question, encouraging the island's pro-independence forces, it would provoke strong countermeasures from the mainland. So it should stop raising tensions over Taiwan and stop supporting pro-independence forces on the island in order to help maintain peace and stability in the region.

As for the DPP, it should face reality, abandon the illusion of achieving "Taiwan independence" with US support, and return to the correct path of promoting exchanges, and seek peaceful development across the Strait, enhancing the well-being of the island's residents. Taiwan's future and welfare can be secure only on the basis of the 1992 Consensus that there is only one China. Conversely, if the DPP relies on the US to seek "Taiwan independence", it will only push the island toward peril, bringing untold suffering upon its residents.

In other words, the DPP should stop daydreaming about achieving independence with the support of the US, because that will remain a daydream, and US politicians should cease sending the wrong signals to Taiwan and raising tensions across the Strait. By attempting to interfere in the Taiwan question, the US and its allies have destabilized the situation and raised the fears of conflict. For peace and stability across the Strait, the US should stop using Taiwan as a tool to confront the mainland. And compatriots on both sides of the Strait should work together to resolve the differences, strengthen cross-Strait ties, and contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

The author is a professor at the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Beijing Union University. The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

TSMC's reliance on US bad for island economy

By Wang Shacheng

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co accounts for more than half of the global semiconductor production. Such is the hold of the TSMC on the global market that its revenue in April reached nearly NT$240 billion ($7.46 billion), up 20.9 percent month-on-month and 59.6 percent year-on-year. The figure was record high for the period and the second highest in the company's history — its October 2023 revenue was slightly higher.

From January to April, the TSMC's cumulative revenue was NT$830 billion, up 26.2 percent year-on-year, with the strong demand for 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer advanced chip process technology being the main driver of the revenue surge in April.

As the world's largest contract chip maker, the TSMC's clientele includes tech giants such as Apple and Nvidia. And with Apple launching a new series of iPads on May 7 and ramping up its efforts to develop AI chips, the TSMC stands to benefit significantly.

But since both Apple and Nvidia are US-based companies, their heavy reliance on the TSMC has been a cause of concern for the US administration. So the administration is steering the TSMC into a carefully laid trap. For instance, in early May, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the US purchases 92 percent of its cutting-edge chips from the TSMC, so losing the company would cause "absolute devastation" to the US economy. One month before that, the Joe Biden administration had already said it would invest up to $6.6 billion to support the TSMC's $65 billion investment plan to set up three chip factories in Arizona that would produce the world's most advanced chips.

The administration's funding, despite comprising just 10 percent of the TSMC's total investment, has tied the company to the US, attracting substantial investment to a sector that is critical to the US with minimal financial commitment and embedded political gains.

TSMC Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei is acutely aware of the global economic uncertainties and geopolitical tensions that could further impact consumer confidence and end-market demand. So despite its industrial and technological advantages, the TSMC, constrained by Taiwan's political landscape, has to bow to US political and economic pressures.

Semiconductors remain Taiwan's last competitive stronghold globally. And the shifting of TSMC technology or capacity to the US would shrink this last asset of the island. The US aims to control the TSMC's technologies and hollow out the company by using the CHIPS and Science Act.

Interestingly, the opening of the TSMC's first production unit in the US has been delayed — from this year to the next — ostensibly because local workers don't have the expertise needed to install some sophisticated equipment and for a general lack of skilled workers. The deeper problem is that the TSMC's factories in the US cannot hire skilled workers from abroad to expedite the process, leading to repeated delays. This shows that the setting up of TSMC factories in the US means exploitation of the company by the administration.

The Chinese mainland has for years been one of the largest markets for the TSMC. Official data from the island's financial department show that in the first four months of this year, Taiwan's exports of integrated circuits to the mainland (and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) amounted to $26.01 billion, which was 15.55 times more than its integrated circuit exports to the US and accounts for 53.1 percent of the island's total global exports. The figure is lower (in relative terms) than that for the same period last year, when exports to the mainland were 27.57 times higher than those to the US.

According to the General Administration of Customs, in the first quarter of this year, the mainland's imports from Taiwan amounted to 320 billion yuan ($44.33 billion), with a trade deficit of 200 billion yuan. It had a trade deficit of 350 billion yuan in integrated circuits for the whole year. Despite the overall positive trends in the foreign trade economy, the mainland has a trade deficit with Taiwan, including in integrated circuits, underscoring the mainland's role as a stable and major market for the TSMC.

In fact, the mainland's new quality productive forces offer Taiwan enterprises new opportunities and momentum to integrate into and participate in the mainland's high-quality development, which promotes inclusiveness and openness.

The TSMC operates two facilities on the mainland: TSMC Nanjing Company Limited and its Fab 16, and TSMC China Company Limited and its Fab 10. And since the mainland is the TSMC's largest and most stable market, aligning its strategic planning with the development of the mainland's new quality productive forces would be the ideal choice for the company.

Should the Taiwan authorities, driven by political motives, enforce policies that cause the TSMC to overly depend on the US market and disrupt the harmonious economic relationship between the TSMC and the mainland market, the impact on the company and the island's economy as a whole would be catastrophic.

The author is head of the Institute of Taiwan Economics, Central University of Finance and Economics. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Cross-Strait tourism a win-win vision

By Pan Hsi-tang

As the newly-elected leader Lai Ching-te prepares to "take office" on Monday, the Taiwan authorities should seize the opportunity to thaw cross-Strait relations, starting with the tourism sector.

The sign of a possible change was evident in the mainland tourism authorities' announcement that residents of Fujian province on the Chinese mainland could again travel to Matsu in Taiwan.

But despite the above initiative being driven by the opposition Kuomintang party on the island, the thawing of cross-Strait relations hinges on the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's willingness to reciprocate the goodwill shown by the mainland and agree with Kuomintang.

Beijing will not only allow Fujian residents to travel to Matsu in Taiwan but also further relax travel restrictions, allowing tour groups from Fujian to visit Taiwan contingent upon the resumption of direct sea transport between Fujian's Pingtan county and Taiwan. This gesture from the mainland signifies goodwill, and its further progress hinges on the response from the Taiwan authorities.

However, the Taiwan island's "mainland affairs council" dismissed the move, claiming it does not meet the principle of equivalent openness. Historically, the opening of cross-Strait travel has neither been instantaneous nor conducted on the basis of strict reciprocity, especially because of the vast population disparity between the two sides of the Strait — Fujian alone has nearly 40 million people, almost double that of Taiwan. For example, if Beijing allowed all mainland residents to visit the island, could Taiwan handle the influx?

The mainland has said the resumption of the Pingtan-Taiwan maritime route is a prerequisite for further easing of travel restrictions, indicating it has a phased plan for the resumption of cross-Strait tourism. This careful planning not only aligns with the top Chinese leader's desire to encourage mainland residents to visit Taiwan, and the comments of Song Tao, head of Taiwan Affairs Office, but also reflects astute planning to minimize the political risk should Taiwan reject these overtures.

While progress may seem slight, these steps are crucial to resume cross-Strait travel after the cessation of travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But the deadlock over resuming talks on cross-Strait travel hinges on the DPP lifting the ban on group travel and abandoning its absolute reciprocity term.

Despite the lack of trust between the authorities on both sides, shared intentions and gradual steps can foster goodwill over time, potentially breaking the current stalemate. With Lai taking office, there is hope that cross-Strait travel would be normalized, not least because both sides seem interested in expanding people-to-people exchanges. But certain steps should be taken to make that possible.

First, the two sides of the Strait should establish communication channels at multiple levels. Since cross-Strait tourism has come to a halt because of the lack of trust between the two sides of the Strait, the DPP should heed the advice of the island's tourism industry and lift the unreasonable ban on group tours to the mainland as a gesture of goodwill.

Further arrangements can be made through platforms such as the island's "Taiwan Strait Tourism Association", the mainland's Association for Tourism Exchange across the Taiwan Strait and other civil channels to build effective communication models in Kinmen in Taiwan or Xiamen in Fujian.

Second, the Taiwan authorities should improve the island's tourism sites, public facilities and transportation services. During extensive cross-Strait exchanges in the past, the influx of mainland tourists boosted Taiwan's tourism industry. Yet some subpar low-cost tours prevented tourists from fully enjoying the tourist sites and experiencing the local culture. So the island authorities should collaborate with the private sector to prioritize quality over quantity in the tourism sector so that people pay repeated visits to the island to enjoy the travel experience.

Third, the island authorities should reciprocate the goodwill shown by the mainland. To welcome mainland tourists, Taiwan should ease the requirements for mainland residents to travel to the island. Also, considering the keen interest of the residents of Kinmen, Matsu and Penghu in Taiwan to resume cross-Strait trade, shipping and postal services, a positive response from the mainland could lay the groundwork for resuming full cross-Strait exchanges.

The mainland has already extended an olive branch, and the DPP's response is eagerly awaited. It is hoped that the Lai authorities will not let go of this opportunity to use tourism to ease the tensions across the Strait. If Taiwan lifts the ban on travel to the mainland, the latter might respond positively, leading to a resurgence of mainland visitors to Taiwan.

Ideally, if the mainland takes a "small step" by opening its doors to tourists from Taiwan, the island should respond by taking a similar "small step". That would allow cross-Strait relations to be influenced by a spirit of mutual understanding and goodwill. Hopefully, Lai could release some signal that can help foster exchanges and build trust between the two sides of the Strait, which would evoke even greater goodwill gestures from the mainland.

"Step-by-step" progress is an ideal way of resuming cross-Strait exchanges amid a lack of mutual trust and facilitating low-risk interactions, which would gradually foster mutual trust and understanding, thereby laying the groundwork for more significant, expanded interactions.

The author is a professor of cross-Strait relations and international relations at Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan. The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

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