Hong Kong Protests May Help Taiwan’s Leader Resist China

Bloomberg
Date: July 1, 2019
By: Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press

Beijing (AP) — Recent anti-government protests in Hong Kong are echoing in Taiwan, possibly giving the island's President Tsai Ing-wen a lift in her campaign to resist Beijing's pressure for political unification and win a second term in next year's elections.

The demonstrations sparked by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam's now-shelved push for unpopular extradition legislation have turned a glaring spotlight on China's "one country, two systems" framework for ruling the former British colony, the same formula it envisages imposing on self-governing Taiwan.

That proposal has never found much support among Taiwan's independence-minded voters. Events in Hong Kong now seem to be handing Tsai even more ammunition to attack opponents who argued that an accommodation with Beijing could be reached.

"People on the street understand that President Tsai took the anti-extradition law episode as a boost for her campaign," said Andrew Huang, strategic studies professor at Taiwan's Tamkang University.
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