After the Chinese military fired missiles into the waters surrounding Taiwan in early August and international media focused on the possibility of war, many Taiwanese-Australians were resolute in their belief that “life must go on”.
While the escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait was concerning, Sydney resident Austin Tuon said it was nothing new for the self-ruled island.
“I think we are definitely concerned … this time around, yes, it is concerning for all of us but Taiwanese people are very resilient, and they know life goes on,” said the former president of the Australian Taiwanese Friendship Association (ATFA).
“This is something that they don't wish to panic about, they still need to continue with their livelihoods and make the best out of a situation basically, play the cards that they're dealt.
“I commend the Taiwanese people for being so resilient.”
The last time Beijing fired live missiles near Taiwan was more than 20 years ago, in 1996, after the island held its first direct presidential vote.
On 4 August, China deployed more than 100 planes as part of its biggest-ever drills in the Taiwan Strait, one day after United States House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
Ms Pelosi had made the trip, despite protests from Beijing, to show “America stands with Taiwan” in a show of support for the island that she called “a special place” with “one of the freest” democracies in the world.
I commend the Taiwanese people for being so resilient.Austin Tuon
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said fighter jets and bombers, and more than 10 warships were activated.
China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to claim the self-ruled island by force if necessary. Taiwan says it is already its own democratic state and has never been ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr Tuon remembers the last “scare” in 1996, or what has become known as the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis.
“It's not something new. But this time … it's somewhat more aggressive, the scale is larger,” he said.
While the relationship between China and Taiwan has steadily deteriorated in recent years, Peter Huang said “it feels like more tension” after Ms Pelosi’s visit and that the current situation was “dangerous”.
“I'm probably the youngest [Taiwanese] generation in Australia who remembers the 1996 missile crisis,” he said.
Austin Tuon says the risk of mishaps during military drills in the Taiwan Strait is always a concern. Source: Supplied / Profundum Photography
“If [Nancy] Pelosi wants to visit Taiwan ... that's truly our business. And no one should have a say on this ... [the] military threat and sanctions from China, it's totally unacceptable.”
The risk of collateral damage
Responding to public concern over whether Chinese missiles fired on 4 August had passed over the main island of Taiwan, Taiwan’s defence ministry said they had flown high into the atmosphere and were of no threat.
Mr Tuon said he was more concerned about miscalculations during missile launches.
“As you can see, a lot of missiles, they're sort of strategically placed on the trade routes … they are using that as a deterrent and show of force to stop your trade routes, stop your shipping, temporarily blockade your shipping routes,” he said.
“It's certainly a tactic they [China] are very familiar with, and it's something that they're quite good at doing."
A People's Liberation Army member looks through binoculars during military exercises as Taiwan's frigate Lan Yang is seen at the rear on 5 August. Credit: Lin Jian/AP
"Maybe one of the missiles … something happens unexpectedly (and this) could escalate the situation really quickly. So I think that's what most people are concerned about,” he said.
“You can see that even the Chinese didn't intend what happened when a few of their missiles went into Japanese waters.”
Five ballistic missiles fired by China appear to have landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on 4 August, Japanese defence minister Nobuo Kishi said, as part of military exercises launched by China.
Taiwan is still ‘safe enough’
Aileen Yen is the current ATFA president and said Taiwanese-Australians continued to travel to Taiwan despite the rising tensions and COVID-19 quarantine rules.
“Since the lessening of quarantine restrictions and that I believe that was around June, July … a lot of people have gone back to [Taiwan] and visited family,” she said.
If [Nancy] Pelosi wants to visit Taiwan ... that's truly our business.Peter Huang
“We haven't seen them [family] for two-and-a-half years, myself included. If it wasn't for the fact that I can't really just drop everything and go back and quarantine, I would go.
“So I think it says that the Taiwanese community sees Taiwan as safe enough for them to visit, despite the military drills.”
Different voices in the Taiwanese community
While many Taiwanese-Australians supported Ms Pelosi's Taipei visit, Mr Tuon recognised that a “minority” were against it.
“But as you can see, probably from the international news and also the Taiwanese media, there are different voices within Taiwan … there's a minority that opposes the visit simply because, you know, they feel like she's 'stirring the pot'.”
Based on my circles … we are all very supportive of Nancy Pelosi's visit because if [the] Chinese don’t want to be our friend, we've got to have other friends that we can rely on.
But Mr Tuon said this example of free speech was part of Taiwan’s blossoming democracy.
“That's the true value of democracy and free speech, you are allowed to go out in public and express your opinion, without fear of prosecution. I welcome different voices, that's what makes our democracy great," Mr Tuon said.
“And I think Taiwan has really, really blossomed over the past 50 years, we've really gone the other way.”
Mr Huang said the views of older Taiwanese-Australians differed from younger generations.
Taiwanese-Australians campaigning for Taiwan to join the World Health Organisation. Source: Supplied / Profundum Photography
“But there's another half - older generations - just have the same fear that which I just mentioned, whereas the younger ones, I don't think a lot of them understand the context of the risks involved in this.”
Peter Huang. Source: Supplied / Profundum Photography
‘I don’t think it’s news’
Jennifer Hsu, a research fellow at the , said the Australian media’s reporting of the recent China-Taiwan tensions was centred on the US-China rivalry with Taiwan caught in the middle, giving “little agency to how Taiwanese in Taiwan are reflecting upon the issue”.
“Yes, there are certainly military drills … Beijing's responses to the Pelosi visit have been centred on the military aspect. But Taiwanese in Taiwan are also getting on with their everyday lives,” she said.
Ms Yen said Ms Pelosi’s visit was a "non-story".
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) met with Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. Source: AAP / AP
“As for how does it make the Taiwanese community feel? I don't think it's news."
What happens next?
Ms Hsu said China’s recent military drills, adding to incursions by its military aircraft into Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the past year, has “really changed the status quo” and “Beijing is constantly shifting the lines”.
“China sees Taiwan as a domestic issue … the demonstration of strength, the military drills and the missiles are to indicate very strongly to the US that it is infringing on issues of a domestic nature,” she said.
“You can draw parallels to the 1996 missile crisis but I think at the same time … the subsequent activities that Beijing has carried out in missiles, drills - that has really changed the status quo.
“So you see much more entry into Taiwan's ADIZ so that kind of shifts the line a bit, right, so does that make it a new norm where Beijing with its military flyovers, with each subsequent flyover through Taiwan’s ADIZ, does that change the status quo? I would say it does.”
And as for Australia’s foreign policy approach, Ms Hsu said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government had shown greater restraint in dealing with the country’s relationship with China.
“The Albanese government has maintained a fairly disciplined stance about not changing the status quo [of China and Taiwan]. In terms of Australia's engagement with Taiwan, it continues to recognise the One China policy, there's no movement on that,” she said.
For Mr Tuon, the message was simple.
“We urge the Chinese government to sort of stop this war-mongering type of mentality and really just focus on the peace and stability of the region,” he said.
