Opinion | What Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu’s perfectly timed trip to Hong Kong reveals about Beijing

There are no coincidences, especially when it comes to cross-strait issues. One move is intricately connected to another, and every actor has to carefully calibrate every step. Cross-strait relations have been tense since the Democratic Progressive Party took up the reins of government in Taiwan, and the economic tug of war between China and the United States doesn’t help.

Given this complex environment, where people have teetered on the precipice of uncertainty for decades, the timing of Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu’s whirlwind visit to Hong Kong, Macau, Shenzhen and Xiamen was no accident.

Han is a breath of fresh air, at a time when extreme political posturing and war cries dominate the conversation around the Taiwan Strait. He is more than just pragmatic — it takes wisdom and courage to sail treacherous seas, and he made it seem easy. Although some back home went bananas over his meetings with the directors of Beijing’s liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau, Han shrugged off the paranoid overreaction and managed to be a gracious guest without committing political suicide.

Han’s visit was perfectly timed to coincide with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s trip to the South Pacific, which included a stop on American soil and was clearly meant to ruffle Beijing’s feathers. With his tour to Hong Kong and the mainland, Han used the cross-strait political turbulence to his advantage. I’ve heard many in Hong Kong political circles wonder what our politics would be like if more of the city’s politicians had Han’s shrewdness and savvy.