That's the essence of China's new law, which is nothing much more than a "do as we say or else . . . " whispered in the collective ear of the Taiwanese people.
As noted by Sam Crane in yesterday's Philadelphia Inquirer the growing confidence and self-assurance of the Taiwanese people is an embarrassment to the Chinese authorities and it's creating a greater sense of Taiwanese, rather than Chinese, identity. "The democratic political life shared by millions of Taiwanese is forging a common civic identity, and it cannot be dismissed as an invention of those who want to publicly declare independence."
Needless to say, the Taiwanese are not thrilled by this new law. 94% of respondents to a recent poll are opposed to Chinese use of "non-peaceful means" to resolve the sovereignty issue. Even more worrying for the Chinese, the poll showed that 84% "rejected the claim in the bill that Taiwan is part of China".
Will any of this have any effect on European plans to sell arms to China? I'd like to think so.
