Difficulties for Taiwan's DDP under new environment

Comments on Peter Yuan Cai “Taiwan: The Democratic Progress Party’s ‘China Syndrome’”, 23/09/2009, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2009/09/23/taiwan-the-democratic-progress-partys-china-syndrome/

The new approach by mainland China, if it is maintained for the foreseeable future, is likely to have profound implications for the politics in Taiwan.

In this new environment, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan will find it difficult to be relevant unless it makes relevant policy changes.

When China and Taiwan are further integrated practically day by day, the future of the two sides is likely to have a looser union than the model for both Hong Kong and Macau, possibly using the model of a federation, with much higher autonomy for Taiwan, including all its own affairs including internal security and many external presentation within the framework of a new federation.

What will be role in that framework for DDP? It is unclear, because its basis has been for independence.