Experts denounce labeling of Taiwan youths as typically 'pro-independence'

Labeling Taiwan's young people as "naturally pro-independence" — as claimed by Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party authorities — is groundless and losing credibility as the younger generation seeks better prospects, experts from both sides of the Taiwan Strait said.

They made the remarks at the fourth iteration of the "Cross-Strait Scholars Face-to-Face" series of academic activities in Beijing, focusing on the view of the younger generation in Taiwan on reunification or "independence".

Co-held by the Academy of Chinese Culture in Beijing and Xiamen University in Fujian, these activities aim to enhance in-depth dialogue between scholars from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Wang Zaixi, vice-president of the National Society of Taiwan Studies in Beijing, said Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's claim that the younger generation in Taiwan is inherently pro-independence is losing credibility.

The DPP has been deceiving and misleading the younger generation for years, but Taiwan compatriots, especially the younger generation, are slowly waking up, and they are beginning to doubt the rhetoric advocated by the DPP, he said.

The DPP's significant defeat in the 2022 local elections is a clear indicator of this ongoing shift, he added.

Cheng You-ping, head of the political and economic research center of Taiwan's National Taipei University, said the notion of "naturally pro-independence" is, in fact, an artificially induced mindset that is fundamentally the result of educational "brainwashing".

Since Lee Teng-hui became the leader of Taiwan, the DPP authorities have promoted "Taiwan independence" in a planned way, and when Tsai came to power, she even made statements such as Taiwan's sovereignty has not been settled, Cheng said.

However, this man-made "independence" mindset of young people can be easily influenced, Cheng said, adding that he has organized many trips for Taiwan youth to visit the mainland and has witnessed their perspectives transform after spending just a few days on it.

As the younger generation becomes increasingly aware that the DPP's conceptual merchandising has failed to improve their actual lives, the so-called "naturally pro-independence" sentiment is undergoing changes, he said.

Cheng said he found a phenomenon that young people began to criticize the DPP on some social networking websites popular with Taiwan young people, which was hardly seen in the past.

Taiwan young people will find their own path forward as they are increasingly seeking information of the mainland, paying attention to the mainland market and opting to pursue better development opportunities there, he said.