China must embrace democratic reform for Taiwan progress, says president Tsai

Bloomberg

China must usher in major democratic reforms if it hopes to overcome decades of mutual animosity with Taiwan, President Tsai Ing-wen said in Taipei on Saturday.
Tsai called on Beijing to become more democratic and renounce the use of military force if it wants to have any chance of winning over the hearts and minds of the Taiwanese public.
“The way China exercises democracy, human rights protections and its military threat are the main reasons there is insufficient trust across the Taiwan Strait,” Tsai said at a briefing.
“The more mutual trust there is, the more room and options there are for discussions.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping offered to begin discussions on unification with any parties or individuals that accept Taiwan is part of “one China.”
Both Tsai and the China-friendly opposition Kuomintang rejected Xi’s proposal, saying his “one country, two systems” framework lacks support in Taiwan.
In a survey by the Cross-Strait Policy Association, more than 80 percent of people in Taiwan don’t accept Beijing’s definition of the “1992 consensus,” according to a report in the Taipei-based Central News Agency.
The consensus is a tacit agreement between Beijing and the opposition KMT that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to “one China,” with both sides free to interpret that in their own way.
“At a time when we are exhausting efforts to avoid provocation and miscommunication, China’s actions are unhelpful and contrary to democratic practices,” Tsai said.
Taipei is willing to enter discussions with the government in Beijing as long as China sets no preconditions, Tsai said.