00:00Main opposition Kuomintang leader Zheng Liwen arrives at Taiwan's main airport Sunday.
00:06She's just returned from a closely watched trip to China, where she met the country's leader, Xi Jinping.
00:12Both urged more cross-strait exchanges and communication.
00:16And as Zheng's trip was wrapping up, Beijing dropped 10 new measures, it says, are aimed at deepening ties with
00:23Taiwan.
00:23Those include efforts to, quote, explore the establishment of a regular communication mechanism between the Chinese Communist Party and the
00:32KMT,
00:33fully resumed direct flights between Taiwan and China, allow residents of Fujian and Shanghai to visit Taiwan as tourists,
00:41and make it easier for Taiwanese agriculture and fishery products to enter the Chinese market.
00:47But this one with a catch.
00:48Beijing says that's only for those who oppose Taiwanese independence and adhere to the 1992 consensus that Taiwan is part
00:57of a larger Chinese nation.
00:59The KMT has welcomed the measures, while Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party-led government has been swift to criticize them.
01:07The presidential office accusing China of using the incentives as a political tool
01:12and saying China should communicate directly with the government rather than bypassing it.
01:18China should communicate directly with the Chinese government as a tool in the political process.
01:26It's a choice to adjust and be a choice to open up.
01:29It's a choice to make it easier for our country, and it's a choice to make it easier for our
01:35country.
01:36Others in the administration say the measures may be aimed at Taiwan's upcoming elections.
01:41This has become a tool for the Chinese Communist Party-led government.
01:51experts say China could use the agriculture measure in particular to influence local elections
01:58in November by only easing access for farm and fishery products from places where local
02:04leadership accepts Beijing's political conditions, giving candidates from the KMT a leg up.
02:10And they say China is trying to send a larger message, that the KMT is better suited than
02:16the DPP to handle cross-strait relations.
02:25这等于是一个两手策略。一方面,它等于是把过去取消中断的重新恢复,来凸显出这个取消的问题都在民进党。这一次能够恢复则是国民党的功劳。用这样子的一个对比来做这个台湾社会的一个分化跟对立。
02:39Ultimately, experts say some of these measures may not come to fruition,
02:44because they would require approval from the DPP government, which Beijing refuses to engage with.
02:49While others, especially more local or party-focused measures, still could move forward.
02:55Though some warn they may further divide Taiwanese society.
02:59Scott Wong and Cadence Quaranta for Taiwan Plus.
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