Beijing, Taipei need peace deal before reunification, Taiwanese scholar says

A formal peace deal between Beijing and Taipei should be signed to build trust before discussions on post-reunification political arrangements, a prominent Taiwanese political scientist has argued at a security conference in Beijing.

Chang Ya-chung, who heads the Taiwan-based Sun Yat-sen School advocacy group, said the “one country, two systems” formula, which has been applied to Hong Kong and Macau, had so far failed to resonate in Taiwanese society.

“If reunification means that one side, with greater power, puts forward a proposal and the relatively weaker side simply decides whether to accept it, it is only natural for people in Taiwan to have concerns,” Chang said on the sidelines of the Xiangshan Forum, Beijing’s leading security platform.

“One country, two systems is an arrangement after peaceful reunification. But people in Taiwan may care more about how the two sides can move from their current hostility towards peace before reunification. That is the more important issue,” Chang separately told a panel discussion during the forum on Wednesday.