Wang-Soong Meetup & Cross-Straits

The Taipei Times reported that

People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) had a "casual meeting" yesterday, during which the two said that improving cross-strait relations is the key to resolving the planned Cabinet reshuffle and the long-stalled arms procurement bill.

The "opposition" parties agreed:

During the 80-minute meeting yesterday, Wang and Soong reconfirmed the consensus reached in the Ma-Soong meeting, which concluded that a clear policy was the priority concerning the Cabinet, that the pan-blue camp would only agree on a "reasonable" arms procurement bill, and that stable cross-strait relations are the key to all of those issues.

"Problematic cross-strait relations is the biggest issue in Taiwan's politics. We both agreed that only by breaking the cross-strait deadlock can Taiwan stabilize its domestic politics and revitalize its economy," Wang said yesterday after the meeting.

What is a "reasonable" arms procurement bill? Both Blues and Greens realize the necessity of "breaking the deadlock" but there is no way to do that, since the deadlock is not caused by anything Taiwan has control over -- it is the result of China's desire to annex Taiwan.

Note how once again the Blues are on-message:

"If the government can draft a clear policy and reach a consensus with opposition parties, then it would be easy for the two sides to solve domestic issues and cross-strait problems," he said. "If we can do so, who forms the Cabinet will not be an issue."

The goal always is to present the Blues as reasonable and the Greens as intrasigent (whereas reality is the other way around). Until the Greens effectively respond to this by getting on-message, 24-7, that the broken government is the result of the Blue's unwillingness to pass the bills necessary to keep things going, then the Blues will continue to defeat the Greens in the polls. The "image of reasonableness" is a very effective strategy for the Blues.

[Taiwan] [China]