On a bustling cruise ship, an intercom blares, prompting Chinese tourists to rush to the upper decks for a glimpse of the focal point they’ve all come to witness: democratic, self-governed Taiwan. The island is now in the final stages of a dramatic and tense election campaign, closely monitored from Washington to Beijing, as the outcome will shape the future of Taiwan’s relationship with China.
The term “Taiwan” echoes regularly as travel guides and visitors disembark from large coaches onto a beach along the Chinese coast, squinting at the distant outlines in the narrow strait. A beach vendor, stationed next to binoculars on a tripod, shouts through a loudspeaker, offering “Cheap tickets for a look toward Taiwan’s Kinmen island!”
Intrigued tourists peer through binoculars, attempting to discern landmarks across the strait. On a three-story sightseeing boat cruising past the Kinmen Islands, administered by Taiwan and located just under five kilometers from the mainland, one tourist expresses his sentiments. Huang Ling, a 41-year-old visitor from China’s Hubei province, says, “I hope the motherland can be united at an early date. There’d be many benefits — a prosperous country and strong people. Although Taiwan is separate over there, they’re still Chinese people, our brothers and sisters.”
Another tourist, a man in his mid-fifties who prefers to go by the surname Chen, mentions he is “very curious” to see the islands.
