During his opening address at the National People's Congress in March, Chinese President Xi Jinping made it clear that the communist regime will never allow independence for Taiwan, essentially demanding that the incoming Tsai Ing-wen government adhere to the so-called 1992 Consensus on "one China, respective interpretations." Combined with Beijing's recent establishment of diplomatic relations with Gambia, a former ally of Taiwan, Beijing is evidently putting the squeeze on Taipei.
Given its stark power disparity with Beijing, Taipei has to walk a tightrope. It must not unnecessarily provoke Beijing. But at the same time it must not allow itself to be at the mercy of Beijing's tricks. Thus Taipei needs to develop an approach aimed at deterring Beijing from initiating diplomatic offensives or, once they get under way, at least rolling them back.
Revealingly Taipei can take advantage of the 1992 Consensus, which it has struggled to deal with. This means that Taiwan should neither abolish the Republic of China (ROC) constitution nor amend its major clauses. In other words, it should not negate the "one China" principle nor unilaterally give up its de jure territory on the mainland, for which the constitution requires a legislative motion followed by a national referendum. Not only a declaration of independence but also a national referendum will cross Beijing's red line because they are the two sides of the same coin. Conversely, other measures are all permissible as long as they are limited to symbolic levels without changing the status quo.
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