Taiwan is beefing up its resistance against China amid fears that Beijing would push for a reunification with the mainland.

In the last few years, Taiwan has improved its relations with China, but many Taiwanese are worried that Beijing is trying to increase its influence on them. They suspect that China would turn Taiwan into the next Hong Kong by taking away its right to govern itself if a reunification happens, BBC News relayed.

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Kou Chien-wen, a political expert from the National Chengchi University, says people have become wary of Beijing's intentions after the Occupy Central in Hong Kong. Moreover, Chinese President Xi Jinping recently expressed his increasing intention to reunify the island with the mainland.

Xi believes Hong Kong and Taiwan, territories taken by foreign countries during China's weak point, should be reclaimed, according to Lai Chung-chiang, the founder of Taiwan's Occupy Legislative Yuan. In spring, the organization prevented Taiwan from pushing through with a controversial trade pact with China.

Moreover, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-Jeou is in favor of the reunification and is attempting to convince the citizens that Taiwan is part of China.

However, China will find it more difficult to reclaim Taiwan because it already has its own government and army. Moreover, it has succeeded in fighting off colonial rule since the late 1800s to uphold its democracy.

As of now, Beijing is employing the same strategy that it used in Hong Kong - closing the gap between the two using trade deals. In recent years, China has become not only Taiwan's biggest trade and investment partner, but also its top tourist source.

Some people approve of the deal, thinking it will boost Taiwan's economy, but there are some who think the trade agreements are traps. They think Beijing is strengthening their economic ties to make way for "political unification," Lai said.

Taiwanese activists were able to secure a promise from the government to work on implementing more scrutiny for future trade agreements with China. Their next goal is to halt all of Ma's negotiations with China and help anti-Beijing candidates win in the next elections.

With the activists gaining a wide base of support from the locals, Beijing may need to implement more than just its "one country, two systems" policy to get a hold of Taiwan. Last week, Ma suggested China should turn democratic beginning with Hong Kong.

However, a democratic China may still be not enough for Taiwan, because many of the latter's people do not believe the island is a part of the mainland, the report stated.

Tagspolitics, Cross-Straite Relations, Politics of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan