It’s Taiwan’s election. But this time, it’s all about China

editor

6 years ago

The5 Sydney Morning Herald
Date: January 5, 2020
By: Julie Szego

One morning last month, I found myself in a dimly-lit lecture theatre in Taipei. The building, housing the

At Taipei’s Presidential Office Building, a manga-style depiction of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen by the artist Wei Zong-cheng. The caption says the president handles “an endless stream of issues that concern the country … But with her beloved companion by her side, any fatigue or weariness soon dissipates."

Institute for National Defence and Security Research, a think tank that briefs Taiwan’s government, sits in a military compound. Facing the audience was a long table of eight experts – seven men in ties and dark suits and one woman.

The mood was sombre. Winter was setting in. And in this besieged democracy of 23 million, it’s also election season.

In the lead-up to presidential elections on January 11, Beijing is cranking up the pressure on Taiwan’s voters to unseat President Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party, whose campaign pitch emphasises the island’s sovereignty.

One of the institute’s panellists, Dr Che-Chuan Lee, reflected on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s more overt bullying measures: excluding the island from multilateral forums and turning seven of Taipei’s diplomatic allies to Beijing, so that now only 15 states formally recognise Taiwan. [FULL STORY]

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