Political observers across Taiwan Strait laud central gov't policies on boosting ties

Political observers from across the Taiwan Strait have applauded the policy measures newly unveiled by the Chinese central government to boost exchanges and cooperation between the mainland and the island region.

The central government on April 12 rolled out 10 policies and measures -- spanning inter-party communication, infrastructure, travel, trade and culture -- aimed at boosting cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation.

The announcement by the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee followed a meeting between Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, and Cheng Li-wun, chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, the first such top-level meeting between the two political parties across the Taiwan Strait in a decade.

Atop the 10 initiatives announced by the mainland is a proposal to explore a regular communication mechanism between the CPC and the KMT.

In addition to exploring the establishment of a regularized communication mechanism between the CPC and the KMT, more of these policy measures concern specific issues related to people's livelihood, precisely addressing the actual needs of various sectors in Taiwan, especially grassroots communities, youth, and small and medium-sized enterprises.

"For example, the catches of Taiwan's deepsea fishing vessels can be shipped directly to the mainland, and Taiwan's agricultural products can also enter the mainland market, which are both cases of expanded integrated development. In addition, Kinmen and Matsu can be connected with the coastal areas of Fujian Province in terms of access to water, electricity and gas supply, and construction of cross-sea bridges. There are also plans for Xiamen's Xiang'an airport to be jointly used with Kinmen. All these are concrete steps that further deepen integrated development," said Wu Yongping, dean of the Institute for Taiwan Studies at Tsinghua University.

Among the 10 policy measures is one for resuming individual travel to Taiwan for residents of Shanghai and Fujian. Taiwanese tourism and business operators believe that compared to approving group tours earlier, the mainland's willingness to directly promote the resumption of individual travel pilot programs sends a stronger signal of openness and demonstrates greater goodwill.

Recent data indicate increasing cross-Strait exchanges. In the first quarter of this year, applications for travel passes for Taiwan residents to enter or leave the mainland rose by 11.8 percent year on year, while visits by Taiwan residents to the mainland increased by 27.6 percent. First-time applicants -- many under the age of 45 -- have also grown in number.

"The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has gone too far in manipulating its so-called 'anti-China,' 'resentment toward China,' and 'resistance to China" tricks, which has backfired. More and more young people feel that there's no need to deliberately 'demonize' the mainland -- they want to see for themselves what the mainland is really like. Over the past couple of years, we've seen many people go to the mainland and use various forms of audio-visual media to share the truth about the mainland's progress with more Taiwan people around them," said Wang Bing-chung, a political commentator in Taiwan.

"Many of these individuals are Taiwan youth who previously supported the DPP. Because they were deceived in the past, they now carry a strong sense of anger and feel compelled to take personal action to debunk the lies they were fed. Under these circumstances, I believe it is an inevitable historical trend for compatriots on both sides of the strait to grow closer," he said.

Political observers across Taiwan Strait laud central gov't policies on boosting ties

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman on Friday lashed out at Japan's latest sharp increase in defense budget and planned revision of defense equipment transfer principles to allow the export of lethal weapons, urging the country to make a clean break from militarism.

It was reported that the Japanese parliament has enacted a record-high budget for fiscal year 2026, featuring a defense expenditure of 9.04 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars), exceeding 9 trillion yen for the first time. Reports also indicate that the Japanese government is planning a significant revision to the implementation guidelines of its "Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology," which will allow the export of lethal weapons.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, the spokesman, said in response, "Various signs have shown that the Japanese right-wing forces are stepping up efforts to push the country's security policy to shift toward a more offensive and expansionist direction. Their acts gravely violate the [1943] Cairo Declaration, the [1945] Potsdam Proclamation, the [1945] Japanese Instrument of Surrender, and other instruments with legal effect under international law, gravely go against Japan's own Constitution and existing domestic norms, and pose a serious threat to the post-war international order and regional peace and stability."

"Japanese militarism once inflicted untold suffering on the region and beyond, yet there has never been a proper reckoning with it after World War II," Zhang said.

Now, the Japanese side has completely torn off its disguise and accelerated its pace of re-militarization, which cannot but arouse strong concern and condemnation from the rest of the world, the spokesman said.

"We urge the Japanese side to stop its retrogressive moves and make a clean break from militarism. Otherwise, it will lose the trust of its Asian neighbors and the rest of the international community," he said.

China urges Japan to break away from militarism