Life would be so much easier for the Communists who rule China if it were not for those pesky democrats on its periphery. The grumpy (though, these days, not quite so old) men in Beijing have been waxing bellicose against Taiwan, whose parliament this week was voting on the sensitive principle of referendums. Presidential elections are due next March on the island, and China fears that the incumbent, Chen Shui-bian, may use his re-election bid, plus this tool, to push Taiwan closer to declaring its formal independence from the mainland. Hong Kong is also turning into a headache. Instead of showing gratitude for China's recent efforts to boost its economy, voters there have just hammered the main pro-China party in local council elections. China has never been good at winning over voters in Taiwan or Hong Kong. In 1996 the Chinese went in for a bout of sabre-rattling against Taiwan, "testing" its missiles close to the island. This merely boosted support for candidates opposed to reunification with the mainland. As for Hong Kong, China so dislikes the Democratic Party that its leaders are not allowed to cross the border-even though Hong Kong is now part of China. Yet the Democrats have always been the biggest elected party in the legislature, and in elections on November 23rd widened their lead as the biggest party in the district councils as well, at the expense of the pro-government Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong (DAB).
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