Time passes peacefully along the seafront of Xiamen, the closest Chinese city to the Taiwanese archipelago of Kinmen. It’s February, but a bright sun invites you to soak your feet in the sea. A couple of girls pose in front of the lens of their companions, the little ones play with the sand. For a visitor, the picture is paradoxical: not far away, the fog blurs several military ships, which slowly cross the waters. On the other side you can see the first islets belonging to Taiwan, the democratically self-governed island that China considers an inalienable part of its territory. A few days earlier, on February 14, two Chinese fishermen drowned in those waters when they were being chased by the Taiwanese Coast Guard, which accused them of being in the area illegally. Although Beijing has increased patrols following the incident, so far, there has been no escalation. Tension coexists here with China’s attempt to attract residents and investments from the other side of the Strait to this coastal city, which almost touches Taiwan.
Shao Gao is around 50 years old. A native of Xiamen, he has the morning free to walk on the beach. “That is Taiwan,” he states, pointing with his finger at the accumulation of land that can be seen in the distance. It is part of Kinmen, the group of small Taiwanese islands separated by just five kilometers from the Asian giant, and where the nationalist side stopped the advance of the communist troops in 1949. That year, the losers of the Chinese civil war established the government-in-exile of the Republic of China in Taipei under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek. Meanwhile, on the mainland, Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic of China. It is the origin of one of the largest geopolitical conflicts of the contemporary era and where the two great powers of the 21st century continue to clash, the United States – Taiwan’s main ally – and China.
“The Kuomintang settled in Taiwan when it lost the war, but we are all Chinese,” Shao asserts, looking towards Kinmen. Although he has never visited the other side of the strait, he maintains that “reunification” will take place “at some point.” “It’s the best for everyone,” he emphasizes. China considers Taiwan a rebellious province that it intends to reunify peacefully, although it has never renounced the use of force to achieve this “historic mission of the Communist Party.” And that rhetoric, which both Chinese leaders and the state media repeat ad nauseam, permeates citizens.
Last week, Wang Huning (Chinese top official for Taiwan policy following President Xi Jinping) asserted that it is crucial to “resolutely combat separatism” and “firmly support patriotic forces for reunification.” His remarks, issued at the annual Taiwan conference, are the first by a member of the Communist Party’s top decision-making body since the Taiwanese presidential election in January. Several political analysts, such as Bill Bishop, point out that Wang’s speech is more assertive than last year, when he limited himself to stating that Beijing should “oppose separatist activities” and “firmly defend national sovereignty and integrity.” territorial”.
Although China had described the elections as a decision between “war and peace,” the Taiwanese chose to continue with the most chinoscepticwhich is proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party, in the Government since 2016. The elected president, Lai Ching-te, presented himself as guarantor of the maintenance of the current the state in which, in line with the policies of the outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen. Her eight years in power have been marked by the absence of communication with the People’s Republic, Taipei’s rapprochement with Washington, and rising cross-strait tensions. .
“It seems that the new Taiwanese president wants enmity with China, but that makes no sense. Taiwanese have families and businesses here,” says Shao. In September, ahead of the election, Beijing announced a plan to turn Fujian province, of which Xiamen is a part, into a “test zone for integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.” The project seeks for the region to serve as a showcase to attract Taiwanese residents and companies and to increase cooperation in industries such as electronics, petrochemicals or precision machinery.
Xiamen is key to that program. The coastal city, with just four million inhabitants, brims with energy and vitality, and its multicultural and modern charm invites you to stay. According to figures from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, more than 10,000 Taiwanese companies (representing an investment of more than 30 billion euros) had established themselves in Fujian before the proposal was launched. Some 9,000 are based in the coastal city, accounting for a quarter of the city’s total industrial output value, according to data from the Xiamen Office for Taiwan Affairs.
A 20-minute ferry ride from Xiamen is Gulangyu Island, an enclave of two square kilometers that at the end of the 19th century became one of the five gateways for foreign exchanges. Thus, the fusion between East and West is palpable in every corner; Bougainvilleas and vines cover the facades of buildings of European architecture, which are mixed with Taoist and Buddhist temples.
Hui Min, 55, runs a restaurant serving regional specialties. The interior is empty, but several curious people are gathered at the stall she has at the entrance. She tries to attract passers-by and sell them – for a not modest price – her star product: a peeled, flower-shaped mango carved into a stick. “Buy this beautiful mango flower! “Perfect for photos!” she shouts while her sister cuts the fruit, giving it that particular shape. Her tactic works.
Hui, a native of Gulangyu, says many of her customers are Taiwanese. “We are the same family, we are very close!” She exclaims. In her opinion, her neighbors “love” traveling to “the mainland” because “China is much more technologically advanced and the economy is doing better.” “In Taiwan they don’t use WeChat to pay. It’s a delay,” she boasts. She claims that she has gone to Taiwan to meet friends and family. “We have very strong commercial and social ties,” she emphasizes. But when asked if the results of the elections might ruin those ties, she remains silent, averts her gaze and sets out to hunt for new clients.
On one of the busiest streets in Gulangyu, Lin, 32, and her boyfriend, Yang, 35, run a craft shop. “This bracelet is made with blue coral stone, a mineral found on the coasts of Fujian and Taiwan,” details Lin. “It is very easy for Taiwanese to visit the mainland, but for us, traveling to the other shore is complicated,” she laments. Chinese citizens need government approval to travel to Taiwan. The permit can only be requested at the police stations of some cities and if you are in possession of the hukou of that city (the census system linked to the origin of a person). The document is only valid for one entry, so you must request it and pay the fees each time you want to visit the democratic island.
“Our heart is the same. But now it seems that our leaders don’t get along very well,” Lin concedes. Yang immediately takes over the conversation. “The thing is that the Taiwanese are very proud,” he begins. “But the real problem is the United States; With his interference he has caused all the recent crises at the international level,” he attacks.
Washington transferred diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 1979, however it has maintained “unofficial” ties with Taipei and defended its “strategic ambiguity”: it sells weapons for its self-defense and does not specify whether, in the event of an attack by China, it would be its greatest military ally. During the San Francisco summit held last November, President Xi Jinping reminded his American counterpart, Joe Biden, that the “Taiwan issue” is the “most important and sensitive” issue in the relationship between the two main world economic powers. .
Yang defends his country’s position, but believes that it is “very unlikely” that the tension will lead to an armed conflict. “In the end the will of the people always prevails. Although it will take time, perhaps decades,” he murmurs, letting us read between the lines. “We Chinese want peace,” he adds.
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