Taiwanese elections on Chinese microblogs

Taiwan has been the focus of discontent between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or mainland China since the KMT-controlled Nationalist government fled to Taiwan in 1949 when Mao proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. Today, much of China’s defense is geared to handle a potential war with Taiwan, which calls itself “the Republic of China”.

Since 1979, the year when the US recognized the People’s Republic of China as China rather than the Republic of China, the US is bound to protect Taiwan in case of attack from the PRC through the Taiwan Relations Act. The Taiwan Relations Act is also the basis for the US to sell military material to Taiwan, a recurrent irritant in PRC-US relations.

In 2005, Beijing legislated an Anti-secession Law to handle a potential independent Taiwan, which at that time was run by Chen Shuibian, president of Taiwan between 2000 and 2008, and leader of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (Chen is now in jail for corruption). This law stipulates that the PRC has the right to use “non-peaceful measures” as a response to a declaration of independency of Taiwan, or in other words: to attack Taiwan militarily if Taiwan would proclaim itself independent.

On the way to Xiamen airport, huge sign ”One country Two systems” in Xiamen, facing the Taiwan strait.

This in turn would force the US to defend Taiwan, a war that none of the three countries really would like to become a reality. The sensitivity of Taiwan proclaiming independency has to do with the fact that in the PRC, Taiwan has always been part of China and it should become a part of China again, preferably like Hong Kong “one country two systems”.

That Ma Ying-jeou was re-elected as president was perhaps not world sensational news. During his previous period as president, mainland China and Taiwan have improved their relations substantially: air, shipping and mail links have been restored and mainland Chinese tourists are now allowed to visit Taiwan.

In June 2010, Taiwan and China signed an Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement to reduce trade barriers and tariffs in order to promote the increasing trade between the two. In 2011, Chinese trade with Taiwan amounted to USD 160 billion and China is now Taiwan’s largest trade partner. Hundreds of thousands Taiwanese live in the mainland, often engaged in manufacturing, especially in the high tech sector.

A new four year period with Ma Ying-jeou as president will most likely continue to make the relations between mainland China and Taiwan even more “harmonious” in the economic sphere, at least for the first two years when the mainland is selecting its new leaders starting later this year. Eventually, Ma and China’s new leaders will have to deal with more complex political questions in the relations.

What I think has been the most interesting thing with the Taiwan elections did not take place in Taiwan but on the Chinese Internet, where Chinese media did not censor the fact that there were democratic elections taking place in Taiwan.

Instead, bloggers and micro bloggers followed the elections and commented on it, some braver than others, many being jealous of the Taiwanese who are able to elect their leaders. Admiration was put forward for the Taiwanese leaders’ family members who actually resigned from prestigious jobs when their relatives became top politicians, something unheard of in China where the top leaders’ family members often are kept secret, especially their links with companies.

This reminds me of the US elections in 2008, when Chinese friends followed the contest between Obama and Clinton with much interest saying that they would like to vote for their leaders one day as that would be “pretty cool”. This time, the Taiwan presidential election has shown the Chinese people that Chinese people actually can vote in democratic elections and that many Chinese in the mainland also would like to elect their leaders.