Xi’s tough talk on Taiwan backfires, as Tsai support surges

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese President Xi Jinping sought to push Taiwanese closer to unification with a new year speech mixing carrots and sticks.

That hasn’t panned out. Instead, his independence-leaning Taiwanese counterpart, Tsai Ing-wen, has enjoyed a surge in support following a brutal drubbing of her political party in local elections last year, according to public opinion surveys and interviews.

The residents of this self-governing island, with its vibrant and well-established democracy, are as much inclined as ever to resist China’s demands despite rising political, economic and military threats from Beijing.