The deputy director of China’s Institute of Taiwan Studies, Zhu Weidong, has predicted a cool down in cross-strait relations.
Zhu was quoted in the international version of the official People’s Daily on Tuesday. Zhu said the results of Taiwan’s local elections, in which the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won by a landslide, will have far-reaching consequences for the cross-strait relationship.
The DPP has traditionally been wary of Beijing, and Zhu said their victory in the recent elections will also have an impact on the 2016 presidential elections.
Zhu said in the remaining year and a half before the presidential elections, the ruling KMT must play what he called a “cross-strait card”. He said President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration will continue to work towards goals including the establishment of a formal system of cross-strait representation. However, he said that the KMT’s troubles will continue to grow in the new political climate, while the DPP will lose motivation to adjust cross-strait policy.