Episode 2

Available for over a year

Who'd want to be Taiwan? An island of 23 million people right next to China, which sees it as a renegade province of its own, insisting that other countries do not recognise its government, and reserving the right to retake it - by military means if necessary. For the last three years Taiwan's response to these tensions has been mainly conciliatory - under the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou, economic and cultural links with the Chinese mainland have flourished for the very first time, and the idea of formal independence has become more taboo than ever. Yet polls suggest that increasing numbers of Taiwanese see themselves as separate from mainlanders, and many fear that closer ties will lead to reunification by stealth. With Ma's presidential term now drawing to a close, this series considers the achievements and criticisms of his China policy and asks what Taiwan's future options might be. Along the way, we learn about the emerging Taiwanese identity, how Taiwanese and Chinese people get on face to face, and what Taiwan's experiences tell us about Beijing's wider foreign policy.