China sails aircraft carrier through the Taiwan Strait as young Taiwanese turn away from the P.R.C.
Reuters reports:
China has sailed its new aircraft carrier into the Taiwan Strait, Taiwanโs defense ministry said on Thursday, as a presidential election campaigning was in full swing on the island amid heighten tension with Beijingโฆ
Taiwan holds a presidential vote on January 11 with President Tsai Ing-wen [่ก่ฑๆ ย Cร i Yฤซngwรฉn] hoping to win re-election. She has repeatedly mentioned what she sees as the threat of China as a warning to voters.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reportsย on the ever-diminishing support for integration amongst young Chinese:
A ย generation of young Taiwanese, who like to say they were โborn independent,โ have never thought their homeland could be subsumed into the Peopleโs Republic of China the way Hong Kong was in 1997.
These sentiments have hardened during Hong Kongโs crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, and look set to propel Taiwanโs independence-leaning president Tsai Ing-wen to reelection next month โ a result that seemed unlikely as this year dawned.
With Tsaiโs reelection, the divide between millennials who want an independent Taiwan and older generations who have generally been more amenable to Communist-run China will only grow wider. Perhaps irrevocably so.
