The island is thriving despite being caught between superpowers. But what I found brought back pain I’ve felt before.
Shoot. I have COVID and now I’m stuck here, I thought.Earlier in the afternoon, a police officer had called, out of the blue, telling me I needed to move to another hotel in the Taiwanese capital. It was very confusing, because I thought I had thoroughly checked the regulations.
I adore Taiwan. In my half-dozen visits, I relished biking in the countryside, gobbling up night market delicacies, hiking the marble canyons of Taroko Gorge. Even when I was interviewing Taiwanese journalists for a 2014about press freedom concerns, there was a sense of optimism that with enough vigilance, the situation would improve.
Throughout the pandemic, I watched from afar as people in Hong Kong either made plans to leave or adjusted to life where one wrong move could land them in jail. On Sept. 10, a Hong Kong courtfive speech therapists to 19 months in prison each over “seditious” children’s books, because the books depicted a village of sheep resisting an attack from wolves. Compared to the defeated mood of Hong Kong, Taiwan stands in stark contrast as a proud democratic society.
Last month, China’s army completed the largest-ever military exercises around Taiwan, sending warships and planes across the dividing line of the 180-kilometre-wide strait separating Taiwan and continental Asia. But in the West, discussions over the future of the island democracy all too often exclude the voices of Taiwanese people. This leaves many questions hanging that even the best specialists based outside of Taiwan aren’t well positioned to answer. While preparing for my trip, I wondered: Could some of this attention actually put Taiwan in more danger, if it pushes Beijing to acts of aggression? What if the U.S.
I saw this for myself after I emerged from quarantine and engaged in deep conversations with dozens of people from all walks of life. Everyone I met was kind and welcoming, but there was a weariness to their expressions that I hadn’t noticed in previous visits. Years of pandemic lockdown have decimated Taiwan’s tourism industry, while tensions between the U.S. and China have exacerbated fears of invasion.
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