Taiwan Wise To China's Many Broken Promises

2025-04-07 05:02:25

(MENAFN- Asia Times) The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has demonstrated a consistent pattern of making strategic promises, only to later undermine or abandon them once leverage has been achieved.

From Hong Kong's dismantled autonomy to broken trade and market-opening commitments made upon joining the World Trade Organization, Beijing's approach has repeatedly prioritized political and strategic gain over long-term credibility .

These are not isolated incidents but a systemic feature of how the CCP navigates diplomacy: agreements are instruments of convenience, not binding commitments. This behavior has sown distrust globally, particularly among democratic nations and institutions that have borne the costs of assuming the CCP's promises would endure.

In 1951, the CCP promised Tibet autonomy . Within a decade, the Dalai Lama was forced into exile and a brutal campaign of cultural destruction began. Temples were destroyed, language suppressed, and religious expression outlawed.

In Xinjiang, once touted as a model for ethnic harmony, over a million Uighurs have been detained in re-education camps. Surveillance technology blankets the region, turning daily life into a dystopian routine.

In both cases, initial assurances of freedom were replaced by policies of surveillance, suppression and forced assimilation.

Hong Kong stands as the most recent and striking betrayal. The 1997 Sino-British Joint Declaration guaranteed“One Country, Two Systems” until 2047. Yet, by 2020, China imposed the National Security Law , effectively ending Hong Kong's autonomy.

Dissent was criminalized, opposition voices jailed and civil liberties extinguished. Pro-democracy newspapers were shuttered overnight and student activists exiled or imprisoned.

The lesson is unambiguous: when Beijing offers autonomy, it is a temporary illusion. And now self-governing Taiwan has no reason to believe it would be treated differently in any negotiated autonomy arrangement.

Trade deception, maritime lies and diplomatic facades

The CCP's duplicity extends far beyond territorial claims. On the world stage, China has used international agreements as stepping stones to power, not frameworks for accountability.

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