Fading interest in Chinese roots Taiwan voters thumbed their noses at Beijing in the island's first democratic elections for president in 1996, even though China conducted intimidating war games. They showed no signs of buckling to pressure this time, either. I'm not the slightest bit afraid. I have been hearing these words of terror for many, many years. Many young Taiwanese have lost interest in their Chinese ancestry and are frustrated with Beijing's efforts to absorb their island.
China is like a hungry tiger.
There is no point trying to drag out negotiations with a hungry China. Military is ready Taiwan's military said it had stepped up monitoring of China's armed forces, the world's largest, but remained on a standard level of alert. In Beijing, the Communist Party orchestrated a chorus of support for its threats against Taiwan, rallying ethnic Chinese living overseas, non-Communist political parties and even schoolchildren. Correspondent Karuna Shinsho, Hong Kong Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy, Beijing Bureau Chief Rebecca MacKinnon, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.