Amid cross straits tension, S'poreans in Taiwan say life is 'as per normal' but some worry about further escalation

SINGAPORE — Mr Todd Tok, 39, first moved to Taiwan seven years ago for his graduate studies and is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Art Theory and Creation at Tainan National University of the Arts.

But despite the deterioration of relations between China and Taiwan following United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island on Aug 2, he is not overly perturbed.

When asked if he would leave Taiwan, Mr Tok said he would only do so if the situation becomes violent.

“Currently I’ve made strong bonds with the Taiwanese here… This place has become a home to me and I don't think I am able to leave just like that.” 

In the wake of Mrs Pelosi's visit, China has launched several acts of retaliation such as trade curbs on Taiwan and military drills near the island.

However, a majority of Singaporeans based in Taiwan whom TODAY spoke to said they were not overly concerned about the cross straits tension.

Similarly, 51-year-old Dorin Poh, who has been living in Taipei for 20 years, said in Mandarin: “I’m not that worried. It might seem worrying when you read the news but to me I feel the impact will be greater for those doing business here.”

Indeed, South China Morning Post reported last Tuesday that military drills by the People’s Liberation Army have led some companies to draw up contingency plans or dust off pre-existing ones designed to keep people and property safe in the event of a war or military blockade.  

“But for the common people like us, we are still living our life as per normal,” said Ms Poh, who works as a content creator for a food company.  

She added that she does not intend to move back to Singapore, as her husband is Taiwanese and has family there. She also does not think that tensions will escalate into a full-blown war. 

For 41-year-old Iggy Loh living in Kaohsiung City, leaving his business in Taiwan to move back to Singapore after 16 years of living there will only be a last resort.

He is the founder of Trinetics Taiwan, a company that distributes American and Australian products in Taiwan, and more recently became the sole distributor for a Singapore brand of baby products.

Mr Loh added that since tensions escalated, his business has been “a bit affected”, with his sales falling by 30 per cent for products from a particular shoe brand made in China, as ships and planes carrying them were not able to enter Taiwan. 

“But currently at the moment I don’t think I will cease operations because we are doing well. Maybe I’m not greatly affected because the products are mainly from Singapore, US and Australia,” he explained. 

He added that he had no plans to leave as he does not think that a war would break out.

Still, some Singaporeans remain on tenterhooks about the escalating tension between China and Taiwan.

After spending around two months in Singapore, 28-year-old Singaporean Saffire Ng and her Taiwanese husband were all set to return to Taiwan on Aug 5 to continue working on their business there.

But when Beijing-Taipei relations soured, the couple decided to cancel their flight and wait it out in Singapore. 

“We are actually supposed to be back in Taiwan looking after our shop but we can’t now… It’s quite scary because everything is so uncertain,” said Ms Ng, who is the sales and marketing director for 77 Garage Car Wraps, a car-wrap company based in Taiwan with shops in both New Taipei City and Singapore. Car wrapping is the use of vinyl to wrap a car as an alternative to painting it.

Singaporean May Tan, who lives in Taoyuan, Taiwan said that she is “not used to such tensions as Singapore has always been a very peaceful country”. 

The 33-year-old, who moved to Taiwan after marrying her Taiwanese husband in 2018, returned to Singapore in July for a short break. She is flying back to Taiwan on Aug 16. 

Ms Tan had thought about postponing her flight back there, but decided to go ahead despite her concerns. 

“I’ve been communicating with my husband, Taiwanese friends and colleagues since the drills started… They are all so calm and indifferent and they assured me nothing bad is going to happen,” she said. 

When asked if she would move back to Singapore, Ms Tan said that her family adopts a “wait-and-see attitude”. 

“I feel reluctant to abandon what I've built in Taiwan — my career and social circle. But if tensions worsen, then of course I'll move back (to Singapore)”, she said.

In response to TODAY’s queries, co-founder of relocation agency APAC Relocation Unni Krishnan said that the number of enquiries to relocate from China and Taiwan to Singapore doubled this week to 13, up from the usual six enquiries per week. 

However, he added that the data is from only a week and they will only be able to “tell in a few weeks time” if there is a trend of people leaving those countries.

On the other hand, Mr Kelvin Yap, the deputy general manager for moving services at relocation agency Asian Tigers Singapore, said that “business is as usual”.

“While we hear that foreign companies based in Taiwan are reviewing their business contingency plans to potentially relocate their employees, there has been no immediate trigger for companies to exercise an exodus exit,” he said.