Advertisement
Why Tsai Ing-wen’s success in containing Taiwan’s coronavirus outbreak could trigger a backlash from Beijing
- Taiwan’s effective management of Covid-19 and its ‘mask diplomacy’ have raised its global profile
- However, Beijing’s distrust of the Taiwanese president is growing, while tensions in the Taiwan Strait have been rising
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen will be sworn in today for a second term in office at an inauguration ceremony that has been streamlined due to the coronavirus pandemic that is ravaging large parts of the world.
Advertisement
Tsai’s second term begins amid a triumphant atmosphere, with opinion polls showing her approval rating hitting a record high of 70.3 per cent in April, due to her deft handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
The inauguration also comes on the heels of the meeting of the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organisation’s decision-making body, at which Taiwan’s exclusion became a key item on the agenda.
Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party, which supports Taiwan’s independence from China, won a landslide victory in both the presidential and legislative elections in January. The miraculous turnaround of fortunes for both Tsai and her party owed much to Beijing’s increasingly hawkish policy and Tsai’s stern response to it as well as the months-long pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Taiwan is one of only a few places in the world to emerge stronger from the pandemic, due to the island’s swift response to the outbreak. It was at high risk due to its proximity to mainland China, particularly given that the outbreak occurred around Lunar New Year when more than 1 million Taiwanese living on the mainland were expected to return home. However, so far, the island has recorded only 440 cases and seven deaths.
Advertisement
The island has become one of the few developed economies in the world right now where all schools are open and professional sports events – such as the popular Chinese Professional Baseball League – are being held.
Advertisement