, Columnist
China Is Closing Another Major Bridge to Taiwan
The last cohort of people who can span the divide between Beijing and Taipei are being scared away.
Tsai Ing-wen walks a fine line.
Photographer: Ashley Pon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
For the past decade, political, economic and cultural ties between China and Taiwan have withered under the strain of an increasingly assertive Beijing and a Taipei that refuses to bend under its will.
Yet one part of the relationship has held together well: The pragmatic businesspeople on both sides toiling behind the scenes to help each other make money while often acting as a backchannel for politicians who can’t risk speaking to each other, let alone meet. Now, it appears even that connection is being severed by China’s failure to understand the machinations of democracy.