Donald Trump’s phone call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has restarted the conversation about China’s relationship with Taiwan. Now, the Chinese state media is suggesting that the Chinese government take back Taiwan by force.
China should plan to take Taiwan by force and make swift preparations for a military incursion, a Communist party-controlled newspaper has said, after US president-elect Donald Trump broke decades of diplomatic protocol in the region.
Before he even assumes the presidency, Trump has called into question the longstanding US foreign policy of maintaining formal relations with Beijing instead of Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province. He also spoke directly with Taiwan’s president, the first such contact since 1979. Both moves have infuriated China.
In response, the Global Times, a state-run tabloid that sometimes reflects views from within the Communist party, said on Thursday that China should rebalance its stance towards Taiwan to “make the use of force as a main option and carefully prepare for it”.
“The Chinese mainland should display its resolution to recover Taiwan by force,” the paper wrote in an editorial. If Taiwan were to declare formal independence, it went on, “the Chinese mainland can in no time punish them militarily”.
But don’t think that Trump, the author of The Art of the Deal, doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into. Sure, he might be ruffling China’s feathers pretty harshly right now, but it is likely a negotiation tactic designed to set the country a bit off balance. An excerpt from 10 Hard Bargaining Negotiation Skills from Harvard’s Program on Negociation:
6. Personal insults and feather ruffling.
- These personal attacks can feed on your insecurities and make you vulnerable. Take a break if you feel yourself getting flustered, or name their tactics.
Other tactics Trump is likely using at the moment:
1. Extreme demands followed up by small, slow concessions.
Don’t let a strong demand “anchor” your expectations. Be clear going in about your own demands, alternatives, and the bottom line – and don’t be rattled by an aggressive opponent
5. Trying to make you flinch.
- Your opponent keeps making demands, waiting for you to reach your breaking point. Don’t fall for it.
Extreme demands and few concessions is indicative of a hard, distributive negotiations mindset. This strategy sees negotiation as a win-lose scenario, and, while effective in claiming value, it is rarely conducive to building a relationship with your counterpart. An integrative negotiation strategy looks at negotiations as a potential win-win scenario in which each side gets to share some part of the value on the table. Further, this mindset sees relationships and building relationships with your counterparts as integral to process. Integrative negotiators will employ negotiation tactics aimed at creating value and bridging the gap between the parties. Commitment tactics and take-it-or-leave-it offers are part of distributive negotiation strategy and are meant to limit both a counterpart’s options as well as knowledge about the other side’s true interests.
8. Threats and warnings.
- How to deal with threats? Recognize threats and oblique warnings as the tactics they are can help you stand up to them.
Trump has alluded to these tactics on the campaign trail before. His tough talk with China might be the first signs of it in use by the President-elect.
Source: The Guardian, Harvard
Yep war’s coming..!