By Wendell Minnick
TAIPEI — China is attempting to slowly assimilate Taiwan, said a new report issued by the London-based Business Monitor International (BMI).
“Taiwan: Defence & Security Report” includes five-year forecasts to 2016 of defense, economic, political and security trends.
Though relations across the Taiwan Strait are at an all time high, thanks largely to the presidential election of KMT candidate Ma Ying-jeou in 2008 and his establishment of direct links with China, there are still areas of serious mistrust and suspicion across the strait, according to the report.
“We believe China will push for greater economic integration, cementing ties and trust to the extent that Taiwan will accept that it is subservient to Beijing,” the report said. However, while the writers of the report expect China to attempt to adopt Taiwan as a “special administrative region through rapprochement,” these attempts will most likely fail due to “stiff Taiwanese opposition to any ‘one country, two systems’ solution, with both main political parties in Taiwan against the idea.”
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