In Taiwan, anger at China over COVID-19 drives identity debate

FILE PHOTO: Tourists wear protective face masks to protect themselves from coronavirus disease while passing by a flag rising ceremony at Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ann Wang/File PhotoTAIPEI: Anger at being confused with China amid the coronavirus outbreak and Beijing's stepped-up efforts to assert sovereignty is stirring heated debate in Taiwan about how to further distance itself from its giant and often threatening neighbour.

Taipei says this has confused countries and led them to impose the same restrictions on Taiwanese travellers as on Chinese, and has minimised Taiwan's own successful efforts to control the virus. "In the future, if there is consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on this new name, the Foreign Ministry shall cooperate in handling it," spokeswoman Joanne Ou said.

"If we want to change then it might as well be to 'Republic of Taiwan'. Taiwan is more well known," Su said in parliament."But if there's no national consensus, a name change isn't the most important thing for now."Taiwan's official name is a throwback to when the Kuomintang party fled to the island after losing the Chinese civil war to the Communists in 1949, and continued to claim to be China's legitimate government.

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