Advertisement

China Briefing | The Hong Kong protests have affected Taiwan’s election – but Beijing won’t back down

  • 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

Reading Time:5 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
The protests in Hong Kong have given a strong boost to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party. Photo: EPA
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.

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).

Tsai and the DPP, which have messed up the island’s economy, were tipped to lose the presidency and control of the legislature to the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party before the protests in Hong Kong turned violent in June.

Hongkongers participate in an anti-extradition bill march from Tsim Sha Tsui to the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Link Terminus on July 7. Photo: Sam Tsang
Hongkongers participate in an anti-extradition bill march from Tsim Sha Tsui to the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Link Terminus on July 7. Photo: Sam Tsang

As the slogan “Today, Hong Kong; tomorrow, Taiwan” spreads on the island, Tsai and the DPP have taken advantage of the Taiwanese people’s fears to gain an upper hand over KMT candidate and Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, with the presidential and legislative elections little more than a month away, on January 11.

Advertisement