Simply addressing China-Taiwan relations can spark a media firestorm, as Taipei’s maverick mayor Ko Wen-je instigated in January when he “broke etiquette” by declaring Westerners should “convince mainland China that a free and democratic Taiwan is more in China’s interest than reunification.” Ko was instantly pilloried for his Foreign Policy interview by the island’s ruling, Beijing-friendly Kuomintang party, which bluntly advised the mayor to place national interests before his own.