China’s coercion in the Taiwan Strait will not necessarily subside if Taiwan or the U.S. adopts a more conciliatory stance, because its coercive diplomacy is rooted in deeper ideational drivers—not just immediate external provocations.
Italian jewelry brand Bvlgari has sparked anger in China as Chinese netizens found that the company listed “China” and “Taiwan” in the same category on its website. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory and cannot be listed as a country.
Every year on 4 June, I think of this train I took from Shanghai to Beijing in May 1989, crammed with brave, earnest students desperate to join the protests in Tiananmen Square. The ideals of freedom and democracy they peacefully fought for will never die.