China presents ‘blueprint’ for integrating Taiwan

China presented a plan to strengthen connections between the province of Fujian and Taiwan. They highlighted the advantages of working together and demonstrated their military power by sending warships near Taiwan.

The Chinese Communist Party and the State Council have issued a directive stating that they want to develop Fujian as a place where Taiwan and China can work together, and where Taiwanese people and businesses can live and work in China.

Chinese experts, mentioned in state media, are praising a document that is seen as a plan for Taiwan’s future development. This is happening at a time when relations between Taiwan and China are tense due to Taiwan’s upcoming presidential election in January.

China is increasing its military pressure on Taiwan, a country with 24 million people and a democratic system. China’s ruling Communist Party says Taiwan belongs to China, even though they have never had control over it.

Taiwanese authorities have noticed that a Chinese aircraft carrier and about twenty Chinese warships have gathered near Taiwan’s waters. This happened just before Beijing is set to reveal its integration plan.

China has, for a long time, used both rewards and punishments as a way to deal with Taiwan. They threaten Taiwan with the possibility of a military attack, but also give them chances for economic and cultural exchanges if they agree with China’s opinions.

Because there has been a significant deterioration in the relationship between Taiwan and China in recent years, it is uncertain how open people in Taiwan will be to China’s broad suggestion.

On Wednesday, Wang Ting-yu, a politician from Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, said the integration plan was “absurd. ”

In a video message, Wang said that China needs to focus on dealing with its financial problems instead of trying to push its agenda against Taiwan through government-related efforts.

The idea of developing Fujian along with Taiwan was mentioned in a Chinese document in 2021, but no specific information was given.

In June, a top Chinese leader suggested a plan to join Taiwan with China. The Mainland Affairs Council in Taiwan responded by calling the proposal pointless and unsuccessful. They said it did not meet the expectations of the people in Taiwan and made Taiwan feel insignificant.

CNN has contacted Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council to ask for their statement or response.

In the directive, Beijing promises to make the business environment better for Taiwanese companies in Fujian. They also want to strengthen cooperation in industries and investments, and encourage Taiwanese companies to join Chinese stock exchanges.

For the first time ever, companies from Taiwan can invest in and create radio and TV production companies in Fujian as part of a trial program.

The directive also aims to encourage people from Taiwan to come and live in Fujian. It promises to improve programs that help the people of Taiwan live and work in the province, like buying property. It also promises fair treatment for Taiwanese students who want to go to public schools.

Chinese experts noted that the document is like a plan for the future of Taiwan, and by working with Fujian, Taiwan can have more opportunities and grow even more. This was reported by the state-run Global Times.

Fujian is a province with 40 million people located on the side of Taiwan Strait. It is the province that is nearest to Taiwan, both in terms of geography and culture.

Many people in Taiwan are descendants of Chinese immigrants from the Fujian province who came in large groups over many years. They brought with them their language, customs, and religion, which became the foundation of Taiwan’s traditional culture among the majority Han population.

China’s ruling Communist Party has always tried to use the fact that Fujian and Taiwan are close geographically, historically, and culturally as a reason to become more economically and socially connected, and eventually unite, with Taiwan.

Beijing is trying to bring together Taiwan’s outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu with the mainland. These islands are closer to Fujian than Taiwan and have a strong historical connection with the mainland.

In a directive on Tuesday, Beijing promised to make the integration between the city of Xiamen and Kinmen even faster. These two cities are very close to each other, only a few miles apart.

It promises to work together on building things like roads and buildings between the two cities. This will make it possible to move electricity and gas from Xiamen to Kinmen. They also want to connect the two cities with a bridge. People living in Kinmen will be treated the same as people living in Xiamen, according to the plan.

They have also introduced similar integration plans for the cities of Fuzhou and Matsu.

Some people who live in Kinmen may like the idea of making it easier to connect with other places. This year, a group of eight local councilors from Kinmen wanted to build a bridge to Xiamen to improve economic connections. They also wanted Kinmen to become a demilitarized zone and promote peace.

Kinmen is a place that is right in between Taiwan and China. After the Chinese civil war, it experienced many attacks from the Chinese military, like soldiers coming from sea and bombs being shot at it.

The plan of the councilors suggests that they want to take away all the soldiers and military buildings from Taiwan’s islands. They want to change Kinmen into a place where people from Beijing and Taipei can talk and try to reduce tension.