DPP won the election not a surprise, however this is not to much of a concern they will not declare independence, that window of opportunity was gone in the 90's. They will keep status quo. The DPP is obviously going to increase ties with Japan and US, strengthen the ROC armed forces, and keep up the usual anti china rhetoric. I however do see if the DPP steps out of line Beijing will enforce economic pressure, have the remaining countries that recognize the ROC to break off relations, and speed up the PLA's modernization now that is it in power. Just my thoughts.
I agree completely,
@Hu Songshan . There is no reason for Taiwan under the DPP to do anything other than maintain the status quo. The fascinating question, however, is how to define "if the DPP steps out of line" from Beijing's standpoint. Can you please explain Beijing's red lines, from your perspective? Just how far does "status quo" go as it relates to Taiwan potentially strengthening ties with countries other than China?
The Economist had an interesting article several years ago about China and soft power, but here's an especially relevant passage:
http://www.economist.com/node/21541714
in his recent book, “On China”, Henry Kissinger revealed how impressed he was by the ancient strategic wisdom Chinese officials seemed to draw upon when he visited the country in the 1970s as America's national security adviser. Mao, he noted, “owed more to Sun Tzu than to Lenin” in his pursuit of foreign policy. To some historians Mao was a dangerously erratic despot. To Mr Kissinger, he was “enough of a Sun Tzu disciple to pursue seemingly contradictory strategies simultaneously”. Whereas Westerners prized heroism displayed when forces clashed, “the Chinese ideal stressed subtlety, indirection and the patient accumulation of relative advantage”, Mr Kissinger enthused in a chapter on “Chinese Realpolitik and Sun Tzu's Art of War”. Praise indeed, from the West's pre-eminent practitioner of Realpolitik, whose mastery of the art of ideology-free diplomacy enabled President Nixon's visit to China in 1972.
How China has changed in recent years. If we dispassionately analyze the situation today, I ask your honest opinion: today, is it the CCP (Xi Jinping) or the DPP that stresses "subtlety, indirection and the patient accumulation of relative advantage"? Is it the CCP or the DPP that "prizes heroism displayed when forces clash" (who is it that implies that there is a military solution to this issue, and even seems eager for it)?
China has a "soft power" problem. China has proven that is is a master at extracting the best from precedents, so it would be well served by further examining the effects and origins of American soft power after WWII, and more recently, the EU's (Germany's) achievements through soft power in the last two decades. PDF isn't conducive to high-level discussions, so it's not worth elaborating, but China would have far more success in the long run by extending the "Chinese Dream" to include Taiwan (and, ultimately, the whole world) rather than have it directed against Taiwan, as it is today.
That's all from me. I broke my silence on PDF out of the abundance of respect I have for you,
@Hu Songshan , so I hope you will forgive my brevity and lack of follow-up.