The rally was colourful and loud with a packed, predominantly young, crowd and a highly popular hip-hop band. Lai Ching-te, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential election candidate was being lauded as the man who would lead Taiwan into the international community and away from China.
Many of those present spoke of their concern about the economy, social divisions and official corruption. But an existential issue could not be ignored. Discussions continually returned to how Beijing would react to Lai, someone loathed as a “separatist troublemaker,” winning at the polls.
The danger of Beijing trying to reunite Taiwan by force with the mainland is a fact of daily life on Matsu Island, nine miles from China, which would be in the “kill zone” in the first line of defence against an invasion.
