• President Tsai and the DPP have taken advantage of the people’s fears of mainland influence to gain an advantage over the KMT
• But no matter who comes out on top in the January polls, Beijing is likely to maintain its tough stance on the island

South China Mornikng Post
Date: 7 Dec, 2019
By: Wang Xiangwei  

While Beijing is revving up its propaganda machine to trumpet China’s good governance and development plans as great contributions to the international order, its bold claims ring somewhat hollow over what it sees as its own domestic affairs: Hong Kong, one of China’s special administrative regions, and Taiwan, with which Beijing vows to reunite through peaceful means or otherwise.

By design, Hong Kong – which was promised a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” formula when it reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 – was supposed to serve as a model for Taiwan.

But the example the city is setting for Taiwan is one Beijing least wants to see. What has transpired in Hong Kong over the past six months, and the increasingly likely outcome of next month’s presidential election in Taiwan, have shown that while the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan still remain deeply intertwined on an economic level, they have drifted further apart psychologically and politically.

Why Beijing’s best option is to wait for Hong Kong to appeal mask ban As the anti-government and anti-Beijing protests in Hong Kong enter their sixth month, and after the pro-Beijing faction suffered a resounding defeat in the city’s district council elections in November, the unrest in Hong Kong has given a strong boost to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).    [FULL  STORY]