before the presidential election in Taiwan, concern in the Chinese province closest to the island

A crucial presidential election is being held in Taiwan on Saturday January 13. An election which will guide relations with China for the coming years and which raises serious concerns in the closest Chinese part.

Despite the wind blowing very strongly on this January afternoon, several hundred Chinese tourists are walking on this coastal path. We are on the Pingtan Peninsula, the part of mainland China closest to Taiwan, just 68 kilometers from the island. Tourists line up to take selfies in front of a large panel on which you can see the map of the strait, with the number 68 engraved on the top.

Saturday January 13, Taiwanese voters will go to the polls to elect a new president and a new Parliament. In full tension with Beijing, this election should determine the future of relations across the Strait for the next four years. The result is eagerly awaited on the Chinese side, and particularly in the province of Fujian which faces Taiwan, and where we hope for the election of a new Taiwanese president close to China.

For this grandmother who came to visit the site with friends, reunification is the only option. “Taiwanese people should not always think about independence, explains the tourist. What good will this bring them? If they abandon this idea, China will provide them with significant economic support which will improve their living conditions. As far as I’m concerned, as long as this idea of ​​independence has not disappeared, I have no desire to visit Taiwan.”she concludes.

“There are military maneuvers more and more often in the south of the island.”

A fisherman from the Pingtan peninsula

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At the top of the hill, we can see the Chinese army radars which constantly monitor the strait. In recent months, Beijing has increased its military maneuvers. The fishermen of Pingtan have borne the brunt of these tensions: one of them says that helicopter visits are more and more regular and prevent the boats from working normally. Octopus fishing, the local specialty, is directly affected. This fisherman hopes that the result of the presidential election in Taiwan will help ease tensions.“In recent days, one of our fishing boats was detained by Taiwan, the fishermen were arrested and all the fish they had caught were thrown back into the sea. It would really be better if both sides of the Taiwan Strait come together. Taiwanese fishermen could come and fish in our waters and we could go fishing on their side.”he laments.

The fishing sector is not the only one affected. Since independence President Tsai Ing-Wen came to power in Taipei – the de facto capital of Taiwan – there has been almost no trade between the province of Fujian and the island, which this trader regrets. from Pingtan. “I hope that relations between the two sides of the strait will relax, which will promote tourism. Mainland residents will be able to go to Taiwan and Taiwanese will visit the mainland. Taiwanese products can also be imported to China.”hopes the Taiwanese.

“From China’s point of view, if Taiwan elects a new leader who wants peaceful development across the strait and abandons the idea of ​​independence, it will promote peaceful coexistence. I think this is China’s official expectation.”

Chen Xiancai, director of the Taiwan Research Institute

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A little further south, in the large Chinese city of Xiamen which faces Taiwan, the university has a research institute on Taiwan. Its director Chen Xiancai deciphers the Chinese position on the presidential election of January 13. “If the Taiwanese choose a new leader who provokes China, it is obvious that cross-Strait relations will experience tensions”he assures.

Fear of Chinese military intervention in Taiwan

In Xiamen, many Chinese people have personal ties to Taiwan. The hope is that the election will allow these links to be reestablished, severed since the DPP, the progressive democratic party, took office in Taipei. This Chinese employee studied in Taiwan. According to her, there needs to be a change of power in Taiwan. “My memories from my college days are in Taiwan, my friends are there, my teachers are there. But there is no more dialogueshe laments. It’s very long, I’m rarely in contact with them. I hope we can talk to each other every day like before. I absolutely do not want to see the DPP return to power and be re-elected. I hope that a pro-continental political party will come to power, and then our cross-Strait relations can return to a state of closeness as before.”she hopes.

What many Fujian residents fear is a military intervention by China in Taiwan that would impact both sides of the strait. But for Professor Chen, this is an unlikely option in the short and medium term: “The economic power of mainland China today gives it many means to use to maintain the security of its national territory. The use of force is one, but the economy is also a means.”

“There is not just one type of war, Beijing has many assets in hand.”

Chen Xiancai, director of the Taiwan Research Institute

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“Traditional Chinese thinking is always to consider peace as the most precious thing, through communication, cooperation, negotiation, to try not to move towards military confrontation. The Chinese people have long resolved their problems without resort to military means, so the Taiwan issue must be treated in the same way”says Chen Xiancai.

Fujian province is at the heart of China’s strategy to conquer Taiwan, notably with a project for an underwater railway tunnel in the strait. An idea that the Taiwanese have so far always rejected.