Project Sword
Before he took office, Lai Qingde had already made a move against the mainland, and Zhao Shaokang, a member of the Kuomintang, commented that Lai Qingde was to "return an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." What did Lai Qingde do?Will the mainland make him so agreeable?
Lai Qingde came to power on May 20, three months away, but before he took office, Lai Qingde couldn't wait to show his fangs. On 7 February, Taiwan's "Tourism Administration" was originally scheduled to announce a detailed plan for lifting the "ban on group tours," but no one expected that at the end of the day, the Taiwan authorities made a 180-degree U-turn and suddenly issued a notice to the island's tourism industry, claiming that they would not be allowed to accept new tour groups to the mainland from now on. There are two reasons, the first is that as a response to the mainland's optimization of the M503 route a few days ago, to put it bluntly, it is the so-called "countermeasure", and the second is that the mainland has not allowed tourists to travel to Taiwan.
In the eight years of the Tsai Ing-wen administration, the number of tourists on both sides of the strait sightseeing each other has been off a cliff**, and before the first came to power in 2015, the number of mainland tourists to Taiwan reached 4.18 million at its peak, which brought hundreds of billions of NT$ in tourism revenue to Taiwan. However, this number will drop sharply to 150,000 in 2023, and the income of Taiwanese tourism operators has plummeted, and they have been complaining for many days, but the Taiwan authorities have turned a deaf ear and remained unmoved. In desperation, the All-China Federation of Travel Associations on the island spontaneously organized a delegation to visit the mainland in February last year, hoping to find a way out, and the mainland responded positively to their request, immediately contacted the Taiwan authorities, and expressed their willingness to allow mainland tourists to Taiwan, but the Taiwan authorities never said a word. In May last year, the mainland decided to take the initiative to show goodwill, and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council immediately announced the resumption of the group tour business for Taiwan compatriots coming to the mainland.
The turning point in the matter was in November last year, when the Taiwan authorities could not resist the repeated calls on the island and announced that they would lift the "ban on group groups" in March this year. Lai Ching-te claimed that he did not see the mainland's "reciprocal goodwill" to Taiwan, and also accused the mainland of "unilaterally changing the status quo" and adjusting the M503 route, thus impacting the safety of cross-strait air flights.
Lai Qingde has already taken action against the mainland before he takes office, which seems to indicate that there will be no calm in the Taiwan Strait in the next four years. Zhao Shaokang, the initiator of the Kuomintang's "Battle Blue," hit the nail on the head to point out the essence of Lai Qingde, saying that Lai's words and deeds just proved that his cross-strait policy is "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," and that "if you treat me badly, I will redouble my favor." However, there is an obvious drawback to doing so, that is, the two sides of the strait are afraid that they will fall into a vicious circle of retribution for wrongs, and the prospects of the two sides of the strait may be even more worrisome than originally expected. He also joked that this is a "New Year's gift package" for Taiwanese tourism operators.
In order to facilitate cross-strait exchanges, the mainland has taken the initiative to set up additional navigation points and has held consultations with the Taiwan authorities on many occasions; the Tsai Ing-wen authorities have "relied on the United States to be strong" and do not take seriously the interests of the compatriots on the island and the great cause of the reunification of the Chinese nation, and only then will the so-called "status quo" appear on both sides of the strait. This sick situation will not last long, the pace of the mainland's takeover of Taiwan is getting faster and faster, reunification is already on the bow, and all that Lai Qingde has done today will become evidence in court to liquidate him in the future.