A pro-democracy activist holds up Taiwan's national flag in front of police officers while Zhang Zhijun (unseen), director of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, visits the labour activity centre in New Taipei City, in this June 26, 2014 file photo. REUTERS/Pichi Chuang/Files
TAIPEI/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Ever since a civil war split the two sides more than 60 years ago, China has viewed Taiwan as a renegade province that needs to be absorbed into the mainland. To that end, the legion of Taiwanese businessmen working in China is a beachhead.
In June, hundreds of those businessmen gathered in a hotel ballroom in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. They were there to toast the new head of a local Taiwan merchants’ association. They sipped baijiu liquor and ate seafood as a troupe performed a traditional lion dance for good luck. An honoured guest, senior Communist Party official Li Jiafan, stood to deliver congratulations and a message.
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