), which asserts that Taiwan is already independent from China and should stay that way, an unprecedented third consecutive presidential victory.
Determined to maintain their autonomy, the people of Taiwan are drifting further from China and won’t come back voluntarily, elevating military action as one of the only options left for China to effect the unification with Taiwan that it has long sought.
government lost a civil war against Communist Chinese forces and fled to Taiwan, dividing the two sides.
In 1994, more Taiwanese considered themselves exclusively Chinese than Taiwanese, and more favored moving toward unification with China than toward independence.
As a result, President Xi Jinping of China has increasingly turned to wielding the stick — economic coercion, military threats and an online disinformation campaign in Taiwan — to pressure the island's people into unification.
Persons:
Lai Ching, won’t, Xi Jinping
Organizations:
Democratic Progressive Party, Kuomintang, Communist
Locations:
China, United States, Taiwan, Beijing