• Lifted by US support for its presence on world stage and empowered by voters at home, Taiwan’s pro-independence government continues face-off with Beijing
• Opposing Taipei is the ‘one-China’ principle, but analysts say there must be compromise between neighbours before stand-off becomes confrontation

South China Morning Post
Date: 16 Feb, 2020
By: Lawrence Chung

First it was residual anti-mainland sentiment from a fiercely fought presidential election in January.

Now disagreement between Beijing and Taipei over the repatriation of Taiwanese from the epicentre of a deadly coronavirus outbreak is piling pressure on already strained relations across the Taiwan Strait.

Analysts said that failure to resolve such disputes could turn stalemate into confrontation, with Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, winning a second four-year term as the island’s leader in a clear rejection of the pro-Beijing Kuomintang.

The repatriation dispute erupted when Beijing ignored Taipei’s request to airlift about 500 people from Wuhan, despite allowing various countries to allow such flights.    [FULL  ST-ORY]