Beijing Softens Its Taiwan Message, But Analysts See Weakness Behind the Warmth

Beijing Softens Its Taiwan Message, But Analysts See Weakness Behind the Warmth

For three years, the Chinese official in charge of Taiwan policy used his speech at Beijing’s largest cross-strait gathering to drive home one theme: a stern, repeated warning against Taiwanese independence. This year, he barely mentioned it. At the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) 18th Straits Forum, held this week in the southeastern Chinese city of Xiamen, Wang Huning—Beijing’s fourth-ranking leader and its top official on Taiwan—spoke inste…