The ballots people in Taiwan put in the ballot boxes will determine whether the tension in the world will go down or up. There is one big issue that overshadows all others in Saturday’s election; relations with China. If the ruling independence party DPP wins, they will continue to strengthen Taiwan’s identity as a separate nation. It will constitute a divide in politics on the self-governing and democratic island. Since the first presidential election in 1996, no party has managed to win three elections in a row. Vice President William Lai. as presidential candidate for the ruling Independence Party, during its last election meeting on 11 January. Bak Hsiao Bi-khim, who is Lai’s vice-presidential candidate, who until recently was the country’s permanent envoy to the United States. Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins / Reuters Could trigger attacks from China China has already warned that a victory for the DPP (Democratic Progressive Party) and their presidential candidate William Lai could lead to increased military pressure. Demands for independence – in the short or long term – could trigger an attack from China and a war between the US and China. In short: World War 3. Young people’s everyday life has taken over the election campaign. Why then are a surprising number of the youngest voters in Taiwan preoccupied with issues other than the one big issue? That is what became clear when young people were allowed to put two of the three main candidates to the wall one evening in December. Instead of asking questions about China, they peppered the politicians with questions from their own daily lives in Taiwan: Social housing policy and cost of living Job prospects and wages Phone and internet scams Voting age (today you have to be 20 to vote) No need for a declaration of independence Why didn’t fear take hold for an attack from China greater space? The answer is that the youngest voters do not believe the election will resolve relations with China. For their part, they have, in a sense, already solved it. Today, less than 3 percent in Taiwan identify themselves as Chinese only. 30 percent say they are Chinese and Taiwanese, while 60 percent say they are only Taiwanese. Facts about Taiwan The Republic of China, better known as Taiwan, has been self-governing since China’s Communists won the civil war in 1949. The losing party, the Nationalists, fled to the island and established their own government there. China considers the island part of its territory. The vast majority of countries in the world, including Norway, relate to the “one China principle” and thus do not regard Taiwan as a separate country. Only 13 countries now have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. They are Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and Vatican City. However, many countries have unofficial ties to Taiwan. The island has trading and representative offices in around 60 countries. Several countries also have unofficial offices on the island. Until 1979, the United States had diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Then Washington chose to cut relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. But the United States, according to its own legislation, is obliged to help Taiwan defend itself. China has previously threatened to intervene against Taiwan if the island’s authorities declare formal independence. China boycotts countries that establish diplomatic ties with the island. China regards Taiwan as the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. Taiwan has a population of around 23.5 million, while China has around 1.4 billion inhabitants. Taiwan controls 90 percent of the world’s market for advanced computer chips and 65 percent of the market for semiconductors. The island is therefore of great strategic importance for the world’s production of high technology. Source: NTB The younger they are, the greater the chance that they belong to the latter group. These youths need no declaration of independence. In their own eyes, they are already from a separate nation that is not China. KMT (Chinese Nationalist Party) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih greets supporters as he holds a running election rally. Photo: Chiang Ying-ying / AP Instead, they would like the politicians to give them an easier everyday life and a slightly better future locally, regardless of world politics. Young people often say that they are tired of repeated and unproductive bickering between the two largest parties, i.e. the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition, the Chinese Nationalist Party, Kuomintang. Or KMT, as they are called on all ballot papers and election posters. Young people see an elite in both parties Taiwan is the part of China that the Communists never gained control of when they won the civil war in 1949. The Chinese Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang, fled to Taiwan, but still sees itself as Chinese and Taiwan as part of China. Taiwan’s population of 24 million is divided into two main groups. One with roots in Taiwan and one with roots in the mainland. Those with roots in the mainland have traditionally voted Kuomintang. The party’s problem is that young voters from families that normally vote for them no longer feel the same ties to China, or to being Chinese. Young KMT voters at an election rally in Taiwan. Photo: AFP The DPP, which in its own eyes is still a new political force, is discovering that the youngest voters see them as part of the established elite. They shouldn’t be surprised. They have ruled Taiwan for the past eight years. Taiwan’s Third Force A third force has emerged, partly because of these young people in their 20s and early 30s. It is Taiwan’s People’s Party, Taiwan’s People’s Party – TPP. This People’s Party’s presidential candidate, Ko Wen-je, has taken up the issues that concern young people with greater credibility. At the same time that Ko hits a nerve, he has not particularly aimed his schemes at young people. Ko is a surgeon and says he devised his policy while walking hospital corridors and talking to patients and ordinary people. Ko Wen-je, who is the presidential candidate of the TPP (Taiwan People’s Party), has a good laugh during an election rally on January 11 at the balloon figure that is supposed to represent himself. Photo: I-Hwa CHENG / AFP The TPP may come to a head in parliament. And because Ko takes votes primarily from the DPP, the battle to become president has also become a little more exciting. Ko is still some way behind. But the distance between the Kuomintang’s presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih and the DPP’s candidate and Taiwan’s incumbent vice president William Lai is shrinking. The fourth actor: Beijing In Beijing, a fourth actor follows more of everything that happens in the run-up to the election than they would like to admit. Perhaps the Chinese Communist Party is also surprised by how the young people in this election campaign have turned the election in Taiwan into something else. Perhaps it also worries Beijing that the relationship with China is not as dominant. That the threats of an attack from Beijing to a greater extent bounce off those who will govern Taiwan in the future. Three young Taiwanese show their opposition to China’s authoritarian regime and President Xi Jingping, here shown in the form of Winnie the Pooh. The famous bear from the Hundremeter Forest is often used to caricature the Chinese president. Photo: AP If Taiwan’s young people do not feel like Chinese, Beijing may become stronger in its conviction that reunification is urgent. China reserves the right to reunify Taiwan with the mainland by military force. Most recently, in his New Year’s speech, China’s absolute leader, Xi Jinping, said that a reunification will happen. A democracy that works Young people can turn Taiwan and China, and thus the world, a bit on its head. What can ultimately decide is how many of the young people come to the polling stations on election day. Political reporters news has spoken to in recent days say that many young people are active and discuss politics on social media, but that they do not always turn up to vote. One reason is that they are often still registered at home with their parents and many have to travel from where they work or study in order to vote. The question is whether the TPP and Ko Wen-je have managed to change this. If young people show up in greater numbers than before, it is also evidence of something else: In a democracy, it is not the people in power alone who set the agenda. Most importantly, and perhaps what Beijing likes least; it is a proof of the democracy in Taiwan works.
ttn-69
Young voters can turn Taiwan – and the world – a little on its head – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
