The sweeteners given out by Beijing since June to try to win over Taiwanese has proved an effective tactic, especially as the island's independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party government can do little to counter it, analysts say.
As part of its efforts to win the hearts of Taiwanese, the mainland has decided to provide 30 billion yuan's worth of short-term financing for Taiwanese businesspeople operating on the mainland.
The move came after Beijing's decision to allow Taiwanese airlines to fly over mainland airspace, a move which would help the operators save at least an hour on European flights and NT$300 million ($71 million) worth of fuel a year.
Just more than two weeks ago, Beijing offered to give 7 million yuan in scholarships to Taiwanese students each year to study on the mainland and announced the students would be charged the same amount for tuition as their mainland counterparts.
And Taiwanese farmers were happy to find that at the start of last month, 15 types of fruit from Taiwan exported to the mainland were exempt from tariffs. There were also measures to allow mainland firms to hire Taiwanese employees, giving the recruits access to the same welfare and other benefits as their mainland colleagues.
All of the measures have been applauded by Taiwanese from various sectors, although Taipei says they are merely part of the 'united front' offensive launched by the mainland to woo islanders.
But apart from decrying Beijing's efforts as a propaganda ploy, the island's government can do little to counter them, analysts say.
