Taiwan’s ‘White Wolf’ leads lonely crusade to ‘reunify’ with China

Chang An-lo, widely known as the “White Wolf,” leads a lonely crusade for Taiwan’s “reunification” with China, a stance deeply unpopular on the self-governing island. As the founder of the Chinese Unification Promotion Party (CUPP), Chang advocates for a peaceful integration with Beijing, positioning himself against what he calls the provocations of Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te.

Chang’s message to the Taiwanese people is one of self-preservation: “If you don’t pursue Taiwan independence, there won’t be a war. But if you push for independence, sell Taiwan out, and provoke a conflict – we will rise up on the front lines. We refuse to be cannon fodder,” he told Al Jazeera. He claims to have engaged with Chinese authorities on designating Daoist temples as civilian shelters during a potential conflict and often wears a vest urging Taiwan’s armed forces to “rise up on the front line.”

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If you don’t pursue Taiwan independence, there won’t be a war. But if you push for independence, sell Taiwan out, and provoke a conflict – we will rise up on the front lines. We refuse to be cannon fodder.

However, Chang’s activities and rhetoric have drawn sharp criticism. Lai Chung-Chiang, a Taiwanese lawyer and human rights activist, interprets Chang’s slogan as a call to defy Taiwan’s democratically elected government, not to resist China. The Ministry of the Interior has branded the CUPP a threat to Taiwan’s existence and democratic order, submitting a request to the Taiwan Constitutional Court to formally dissolve the party.

Taiwan, a vibrant democracy of 23 million people, has been administered separately from mainland China for over a century. While Beijing claims the island as its own territory, to be reunited by force if necessary, opinion polls consistently show that the majority of Taiwanese prefer to maintain the island’s current de facto independent status. Chang’s movement, despite its founder’s notoriety, represents a fringe element in this complex geopolitical landscape.

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It’s saying don’t be loyal to Taiwan’s democratically elected government.