00:00What is China, also known as the PRC, trying to do by hosting events for
00:05Taiwanese business people like this? So as part of the PRC's goal, they are
00:11trying to use this exchange to send their messages and to build. So on one
00:17hand, send the message to show that the PRC is great and on the other
00:23hand, trying to use these exchange activities as a node to connect with
00:31people who attend the events and then to eventually build out its network that
00:37it's able to access, to be able to reach more people in Taiwan. So they have been
00:43saying a lot that Taiwan is part of the PRC and has always been. So that's kind of
00:49like the message that they want to keep pushing out and that China is great
00:54and Taiwan should be part of it. And eventually it had been and it should be.
00:59There's a lot of cultural and business ties across the strait. Is it hard to
01:04distinguish between innocent exchanges and the work of the Chinese Communist
01:09Party's United Front? I'm not sure if there's like real innocent
01:13cross-strait exchanges. United Front work is the work of the whole party. So
01:20every government agencies or party agency has this responsibility to carry out
01:24United Front activities and to help build out the relations. I think it's
01:28important for Taiwan to keep in mind that the PRC's intention when engaging with
01:36them in events like that. So one will be able to discover the subtle
01:41difference between those activities that appear constructive on the surface and
01:45their underlying purpose of the advancing the party's goal which is
01:49in Taiwan's case is to annex or unify Taiwan. Are people in Taiwan becoming more
01:55aware of the threat posed by Chinese coercion here? I think more and more
02:01people are starting to be aware. It's being discussed a lot in the media and on
02:06social media and I think President Lai's commitment is definitely helping with moving
02:16the discussion forward. I think it's the first time that the President of Taiwan
02:22talks about national security threats clearly and directly. I know that he acknowledged the PRC as
02:30a hostile external force which I think would help the society better understand or recognize the
02:37situation that Taiwan is currently in with the PRC. So I think people are getting more aware.
02:44Although currently the discussion has been a bit divided because of the political environment but
02:49it's essentially good to have more debate and discussion so that more people would be
02:55aware of what the PRC is doing and be aware of its intentions.
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