Taiwan may lose the previously offered high degree of autonomy under Beijing’s rule, if it is reunited with the mainland by force, a deputy to China’s national legislature has warned.
The warning was issued on Friday by National People’s Congress deputy Li Yihu, who is also a leading Taiwan affairs specialist at Peking University, during Beijing’s most important annual political gathering, known as the “two sessions”.
“If it is a peaceful reunification … the arrangements may be more flexible than those of the special administrative regions [Hong Kong and Macau],” Li told the Hong Kong-based China Review News Agency.
“If Taiwan moves towards separation or resists reunification, and the mainland government still needs to complete reunification, the arrangement may be downgraded, even to the level of Taiwan province,” Li added.
Mainland leaders have long argued that the “one country, two systems” model, first applied when Hong Kong returned to mainland rule, would allow Taiwan to retain its existing system and enjoy a high degree of autonomy after unification with the mainland.
Hong Kong and Macau retain separate legislative and judicial systems as well as representation on certain international bodies.