China Rolls Out 10-Point Taiwan Incentive Plan
The announcement follows a landmark six-day visit by Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Cheng Li-wun to Beijing, during which she held a high-profile meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday.
Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office formally unveiled the ten-point economic incentive package Sunday, which includes fast-tracking a full resumption of regular direct flights across the Taiwan Strait and broadening access for Taiwanese food products to the Chinese mainland market. The plan further envisions sharing energy and water resources with Matsu and Kinmen — Taiwanese-governed islands geographically proximate to the mainland — and floats the prospect of constructing a bridge connecting them to the mainland.
Cheng expressed warm appreciation for the proposed measures. "As I said during the Cheng-Xi meeting, things must be done one by one," she stated, adding that she was "very thankful" to China's leadership for the preferential package.
The visit, however, drew fierce condemnation from Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The island's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) had previously put Cheng on notice that "overstepping the boundary" during her mainland tour could expose her to criminal prosecution.
Taiwan's Presidential Office made its position unambiguous, with spokesperson Karen Kuo asserting that "any exchanges should not be subject to political preconditions, nor should they be used as tools for political maneuvering or deals by specific parties."
The MAC urged the public to approach Beijing's latest overtures with considerable skepticism, pointing to a well-documented pattern of similar pledges being rolled out only to be later suspended. "The same pattern is now being repeated, without any institutional safeguards for Taiwan's industries, farmers, fishers or the rights and interests of the public, making the measures highly risky," it said in a statement.
Taiwan has functioned as a de-facto self-governing territory since 1949, when Chinese nationalist forces retreated to the island following defeat in the civil war. Beijing continues to regard Taiwan as an inseparable part of its territory under the One China policy — a position endorsed by the vast majority of UN member states.
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