The Moment

By Zoher Abdoolcarim Monday, July 12, 2010
    • Jason Lee / Reuters

    Tea is prepared ahead of the signing of the historic economic deal between China and Taiwan

    China is on a roll — and not just because it's the world's economic juggernaut. In a few quick days, Beijing augmented its influence over Taiwan, which it dearly wants to possess, and Hong Kong, which it already does. In the Chinese megalopolis of Chongqing (where Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek once talked peace), Beijing and Taipei signed a trade and investment pact, dramatically boosting Taiwan's opportunities in China. The deal, another sign of warming across the Strait, also gives Chinese companies more access to the island. But what Beijing gains most, and what many in Taiwan most fear, is a binding of the two economies — a prelude, in China's mind, to eventual unification. In Hong Kong, originally promised a high degree of autonomy, Beijing intervened in a political deadlock by marginally raising the number of elected lawmakers. While permitting this small step, Beijing has sidelined the local government and now controls the pace of democracy in Hong Kong. Juggernaut? This one has hardly started rolling.