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Cissy Zhou

Beijing might have made it more difficult for people from China’s mainland to travel to Taiwan but that did not stop three of them visiting the self-ruled island ahead of Saturday’s elections.
One of them was 30-year-old small business owner Yang Yi, who said he applied for his travel permit in the few hours between Beijing announcing the restriction on July 30 and it taking effect the following day.
“I am pretty worried about the relationship between the two sides over the next four years, as the election result looks quite obvious to me,” he said.
“I am curious about what makes people vote for [Kuomintang candidate] Han Kuo-yu or [Democratic Progressive Party candidate and incumbent president] Tsai Ing-wen.”


Yang said he attended a rally in Taipei on Thursday evening organised by Han, who is the current mayor of Kaohsiung and some way behind Tsai in the opinion polls.
Most of those who gathered for the event in Ketagalan Boulevard outside the presidential office were middle-aged and older, he said.
“There were very few young people.”

The relationship between Taiwan and mainland China nosedived after Tsai was elected president in 2016, mostly because she refuses to accept the “one country, two systems” model advocated by Beijing for relations between the two sides.
As a result of the poor state of affairs, Beijing in July announced it would stop issuing permits to solo travellers from 47 mainland cities. A month later, Taiwanese travel agencies and tour operators said their mainland counterparts had notified them that the new rule would also apply to tour groups from at least eight provinces and major cities.


While China’s communist leaders are keen for citizens not to witness a democratic poll, that did not stop another mainlander, who gave only her surname, Zhao, from making the trip across the Taiwan Strait.
The 40-year-old from central China’s Shanxi province who described herself as a cultural scholar, said she bypassed the ban by applying for a medical permit, which are still available to people in need of health care in Taiwan, rather than a standard travel visa.
Although it cost 1,700 yuan (US$245) for an express service – a standard medical visa costs only 300 yuan but takes longer to process – Zhao said she was happy to pay.
“This election will determine the relationship between Taiwan and Beijing for the next four years. I don’t want a war between the two sides, that’s why I tried very hard to come here to witness history,” she said.
“I’ve noticed there is a huge gap between the young and old voters, which is very interesting,” she said. “The result is quite obvious to me, and I am more interested in whether there will be a landslide win. If so, that will add more uncertainty.”

Zhao said she was also “sort of envious” that people in Taiwan had the opportunity to elect their leaders, something that does not happen in mainland China.
“Of course, there are many flaws in Taiwan’s elections, but Taiwan’s experience could be a good lesson for mainland China some day, if there is democracy on the mainland in the future,” she said with a smile.
Another mainlander who circumvented the travel ban was 73-year-old retiree Zhou, whose son-in-law is Taiwanese, which entitles him to visit the island on a family reunion visa.
Although he has no right to vote in Saturday’s poll, Zhou said he backed Tsai, even though his son-in-law was a strong Han supporter.
“I suffered a lot in the Cultural Revolution and I know how valuable democracy and freedom is,” he said, adding that he and his son-in-law often argued over politics.
Despite supporting Tsai, Zhou said that a mainland Chinese passport holder he would not risk attending her final campaign rally on Friday.
“[But] I admire the atmosphere here. How can it be so democratic and so free?”

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Taiwan here we come: meet the mainland Chinese who bypassed Beijing’s travel ban to see the election for themselves

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epa08116848 Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (R) and vice presidential candidate Willian Lai (L) wave during a campaign in Taipei, Taiwan, 10 January 2020. President Tsai, who is from the separatist ruling Democratic Progressive Party, is seeking a second four-year term and will face Kaohsiung city Mayor Han Kuo-yu, who has been picked by Taiwan's China-friendly opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) as its candidate, in the 2020 presidential election. EPA-EFE/HOW HWEE YOUNG

epa08116845 Supporters of Taiwan's KMT presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu move a giant Taiwan flag during a campaign rally in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 10 January 2020. Taiwan's China-friendly opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) picked Kaohsiung city Mayor Han Kuo-yu as its candidate in the 2020 presidential election. Han will face President Tsai Ing-wen in the January 2020 election. EPA-EFE/RITCHIE B. TONGO

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‘I suffered a lot in the Cultural Revolution and I know how valuable democracy and freedom is,’ 73-year-old retiree says
Beijing imposed tight restrictions on people visiting Taiwan in July but where there’s a will there’s a way



‘I suffered a lot in the Cultural Revolution and I know how valuable democracy and freedom is,’ 73-year-old retiree says.


Taiwan here we come: meet the mainland Chinese who bypassed Beijing’s travel ban to see the election for themselves

‘I suffered a lot in the Cultural Revolution and I know how valuable democracy and freedom is,’ 73-year-old retiree says Beijing imposed tight restrictions on people visiting Taiwan in July but where there’s a will there’s a way

‘I suffered a lot in the Cultural Revolution and I know how valuable democracy and freedom is,’ 73-year-old retiree says

Beijing imposed tight restrictions on people visiting Taiwan in July but where there’s a will there’s a way