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Kimmy Chung

“Hong Kong is not far from Taiwan, just the distance of a flight ticket; Taiwan is not far from Hong Kong, just the distance of a ballot.”
That is a popular saying shared online in the two places as Taiwan’s presidential election approaches on Saturday. It resonates with Hong Kong protesters because one of their core demands is for the head of the city’s government to be elected by popular ballot, a system already in place in Taiwan.
For Taiwanese voters, the saying was a timely reminder to return home to cast their vote.
Among those heading back was first-time voter Mrs Kao, a mother of two in her 50s.

“I’ve never voted before, even when I was living in Taiwan. I just did not care and found candidates from both camps were not good enough,” said Kao, who moved to Hong Kong 15 years ago.
For the first time, Kao wanted to make her voice heard even though she had to spend thousands of dollars on flight tickets and take leave from work.
“It is pathetic to see Hong Kong losing its freedoms and democracy. It reminds me that I have to cherish my vote, and safeguard democracy in Taiwan,” she said.
“I don’t want Taiwan to lose its democracy and end up like Hong Kong.”


In her eyes, the choice between incumbent Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and her populist rival, Kaohsiung city mayor Han Kuo-yu from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), was clear.
“Han will lead our path closer to China. The closer to China, the greater the danger for our democracy,” she believed.
The protests in Hong Kong have also led younger voters to support Tsai.
One of them is Natalie Wang – not her real name – who has worked for a retail company in Hong Kong for more than five years.
‘Make the right choice’: the Hongkongers championing democracy ... in Taiwan
Tsai came to power in 2016 by defeating her main rival, Eric Chu Li-lun of the KMT. But thirty-something Wang said she did not go home for that election as she did not think either candidate would make much difference.
“After closely witnessing what has happened in Hong Kong, I understand how politics will affect our lives and I just feel the urge to return home and cast my vote,” Wang said.
The protests, sparked in June by the now-withdrawn extradition bill, have since morphed into a wider anti-government movement.
Wang said she joined the massive protests in June, and recalled how “shocking and moving” it was to see a million people taking to the streets in solidarity.
The protests served as a warning sign for Taiwan, she said.

“Beijing has already suppressed our diplomatic space and reiterated that Taiwan is part of its territory … If a pro-Communist Party candidate wins this time, Taiwan could be the next Hong Kong,” Wang said. “And it would be us handing it over to them, with our own hands.”
KMT candidate Han supports the “1992 consensus” – an understanding that there is only “one China” but with different interpretations of what “China” means. But relations between Taipei and Beijing have deteriorated under Tsai, as Beijing insists the consensus is a prerequisite for dialogue between the two sides, a condition the DPP rejects.
In January, President Xi Jinping, whose administration in Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out the use of force to reclaim it, proposed that the two sides send representatives for unification talks under the “one country, two systems” model, which already gives limited autonomy to Hong Kong and Macau.
Tsai immediately rejected the proposal, saying no one in Taiwan wanted one country, two systems, given its application in Hong Kong.

Against the backdrop of Xi’s proposal, Tsai has successfully reframed the 2020 poll as a vote to save the island of 23 million people from being annexed by the mainland and people from losing their ability to identify as Taiwanese, according to observers.
Her campaign office on Tuesday released a video, using split screens to compare the daily routines of Taiwanese and the chaotic protest scenes Hongkongers have faced over recent months, giving a strong message to not “let Taiwan be like Hong Kong”.
To Ceci Lin, 30, who has lived in Hong Kong for almost seven years, Tsai’s warning of “Today’s Hong Kong; tomorrow’s Taiwan” has simplified many local factors and history in both places.
Yet Lin, not her real name, conceded the protests prompted her to return home to vote for Tsai, although she grew up in a KMT-supporting family.
“The Hong Kong protests made me more worried about the idea of one country, two systems,” she said.
Taiwan’s repurposed ageing military bunkers
However, Han is not without young supporters.
On Thursday night, his backers joined a mass rally in Taipei, with the organiser estimating the turnout at one million. Among the relatively small contingent of young participants was 28-year-old Joey. He argued that Tsai’s policies would turn Taiwan into an unstable society, like Hong Kong.
“The stronger the stance we hold against Beijing, the tougher the tactics Beijing will come up with in handling cross-strait relations,” he said.
“I am afraid Tsai’s route will only lead us in Hong Kong’s direction.”


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Taiwan’s opposition KMT seeks foothold in US, but is it too Beijing-friendly?

‘Taiwan needs a strong leader’: talk show host Jaw Shaw-kong announces his return to politics

China ‘must use its strengths’ to curb pro-independence forces in Taiwan

Taiwan elections 2020

Hong Kong’s anti-government protests loom large in Taiwan election. But who benefits?

Many in Taiwan have been concerned about developments in Hong Kong. Photo: AFP

(COMBO) This combination of file photos shows Taiwan's President and 2020 presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (L) on December 3, 2019 praying during an election campaign event at the Jienan Taoist temple in Taoyuan; and her main competitor Han Kuo-yu (R), Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party presidential candidate, attending a campaign rally in Tainan on January 4, 2020. - Taiwan's presidential rivals Tsai Ing-wen and Han Kuo-yu will hold mass rallies on January 10, 2020 in a final push to convince voters ahead of a closely watched election on January 11 that looks set to infuriate China and send ripples far beyond its borders. (Photo by Sam YEH / AFP)

Young protesters throw petrol bombs at police outside the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Kowloon district on Nov. 17, 2019. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Supporters of Opposition Nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT) presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu attend an election campaign in Taipei, Taiwan January 9, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

For Taiwan’s voters, election is about more than Beijing and Washington

Illustration: Perry Tse

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen attends a campaign ahead of the presidential election in Changhua, Taiwan, January 7, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang

Kuomintang party's presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu waves to his supporters at an election rally in Tainan, Taiwan, January 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang REFILE - CORRECTING DATE

Unpacking the Hong Kong protests factor in Taiwan’s election and the fate of ‘one country, two systems’

All eyes are on coming election results in Taiwan, which will reflect how politics on the self-ruled island have been influenced by protests in Hong Kong. Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen

Anti-government protestors at the New Year's Day march organised by the Civil Human Rights Front, Causeway Bay. 01JAN20 SCMP/ Nora Tam

Han Kuo-yu (C), the presidential candidate of Taiwan's main opposition Kuomintang party, attends a campaign rally in New Taipei City on Jan. 5, 2020, ahead of presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 11. (Kyodo)==Kyodo

Chan Tong-kai is released from Pik Uk Correctional Institution. 23OCT19 Photo: Sam Tsang

Plain clothing police officers (with batons) trying to detain a man inside a mall. About 100 masked anti-government protester to chant at parallel traders and shoppers from mainland China, at the Landmark North shopping centre in Sheung Shui. 28DEC19 SCMP/ Winson Wong

Supporters of Kuomintang party's presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu attend his election rally in Tainan, Taiwan, January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Ann Wang

"One Country Two Systems is Dead" was showed at the Lennon Wall in Tai Wo. 03OCT19 SCMP/Warton Li

epa08104475 Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen gestures during an election campaign in New Taipei City, Taiwan, 05 January 2020. Tsai, who is from the separatist ruling Democratic Progressive Party, is seeking a second four-year term. Taiwan's China-friendly opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) picked Kaohsiung city Mayor Han Kuo-yu as its candidate in the 2020 presidential election on 11 January 2020. EPA-EFE/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Hong Kong anti-government protests: the city students championing democracy ... in Taiwan

Boats for votes: the Lennon Ship on the campus of Taipei National University of the Arts. Photo: Handout

epa08114525 Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (C) speaks during an election campaign in Keelung City, Taiwan, 09 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/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Hong Kong students hand out cookies in the campus to remind Taiwan students to cast their votes. 09JAN20 Photo: SCMP/Kimmy Chung

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Hong Kong

Politics


The saying that Taiwan is just a ‘ballot away’ from Hong Kong is timely reminder abroad for those from the self-ruled island to go home and vote
President Tsai has said ‘Today’s Hong Kong; tomorrow’s Taiwan’, ahead of Saturday’s polls, in which she seeks re-election



The saying that Taiwan is just a ‘ballot away’ from Hong Kong is timely reminder abroad for those from the self-ruled island to go home and vote.President Tsai has said ‘Today’s Hong Kong; tomorrow’s Taiwan’, ahead of Saturday’s polls, in which she seeks re-election.


Hong Kong’s anti-government protests loom large in Taiwan election. But who benefits?

The saying that Taiwan is just a ‘ballot away’ from Hong Kong is timely reminder abroad for those from the self-ruled island to go home and vote President Tsai has said ‘Today’s Hong Kong; tomorrow’s Taiwan’, ahead of Saturday’s polls, in which she seeks re-election

The saying that Taiwan is just a ‘ballot away’ from Hong Kong is timely reminder abroad for those from the self-ruled island to go home and vote

President Tsai has said ‘Today’s Hong Kong; tomorrow’s Taiwan’, ahead of Saturday’s polls, in which she seeks re-election