Straits Forum Puts Fujian at Center of Cross-Strait Integration Campaign
Emerson Tsui
Two meetings took place in Fujian Province across May and June that indicate the growing importance of its role in cross-Strait relations and shed light on the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) current views of Taiwan’s security. Despite a high-profile appearance by a former president of Taiwan, a lack of engagement with Taiwan’s incumbent administration affirmed that unification remains a unilateral policy position. Developments in the region by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), meanwhile, belie Beijing’s peaceful overtures.
On May 8, the Central Taiwan Work Office and Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) convened a high-level inter-ministerial meeting in Fuzhou along with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and Fujian’s provincial government (Fujian Government, May 9). The meeting, which 48 other central and provincial departments also attended, was held to evaluate the implementation of Beijing’s 2023 directive on constructing a “Cross-Strait Integrated Development Demonstration Zone” (两岸融合发展示范区). It also underscored the Party-state’s resolve to embed integration into the bureaucratic apparatus of governance, while simultaneously preparing for a military operation (Xinhua, May 8). The directive, which was jointly issued by the CCP Central Committee and the State Council, included incentives to attract “Taiwan compatriots” (台湾同胞) to relocate to Fujian Province. These incentives spanned residence registration, housing, education and school registration, legal services, employment, and civic engagement (Xinhua, September 12, 2023).
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