The MERS virus in South Korea is having a social-networking effect on the young generations of Taiwan and Hong Kong. With the virus in South Korea, flights are being cancelled and students in both countries who planned to visit South Korea are likely to reschedule to new flights from Hong Kong to Taiwan and vice versa. It is conventional student culture in Asia to make frequent visits between Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. When the Mandarin speakers of Taiwan and Hong Kong can’t go to Japan or South Korea, they tend to prefer each other as their “Plan B” travel plans. So, more HK and Taiwan students will be talking to each other this summer than normal. Interestingly, both HK and Taiwanese students had their own anti-Beijing expansion movements just last year. Their summer break travel has already begun.

Beijing is now fighting against the unanticipated consequences of chaos caused by a virus.  · · · →