Dispute leaves Taiwanese stuck in locked-down Chinese cities

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Beauty salon operator Shelly Chen flew from Taiwan to her hometown in China last month to see her aging parents for Lunar New Year holiday. Two days later, ir city in heart of a new virus outbreak was locked down to stop fast-spreing infection.

At first, Chen didn’t leave her parents’ house in Huanggang because she didn’t want to get sick and be barred from boarding a charter flight home. She assumed a government-organized plane would evacuate her same way hundreds of Americans, Europeans, Japanese and ors were flown out early on.

A month later, she is still re, with flights to Taiwan bottled up in perennial tug-of-war between China and self-governing island that China claims as its territory. Her salon in Taipei, Taiwanese capital, has lost about $3,000 because of her absence, she said, and she worries how her two daughters will fare as y return to middle and high school this week with one to pay tuition or give moral support.

“My daughters keep asking me when Mom is coming back. I don’t kw what to say, and most important thing a parent can give a child is her company,” said Chen, a 40-year-old single mor. She gave only an English first name she uses because she feared being trolled on social media for her comments. “I think ( governments) should use less politics and be more humanitarian,” she said.

About 1,000 Taiwanese are caught up in lockdown of about 60 million people in Hubei province because ir government cant agree with China on arrangements for charter flights home.

Taiwan has asked China to step up health checks and approve names of passengers after only charter so far on Feb. 4 brought back an unlisted passenger who was infected. “ hinderer is China, t Taiwan,” Taiwanese Premier Su Tseng-chang said last week.

China has said that Taiwan is “using all kinds of excuses to obstruct and delay” flights.

“We just have confrontation, t cooperation,” said Chao Chien-min, dean of social sciences at Chinese Culture University in Taipei. Taiwan's government “can blame mainland China, but can’t solve problem."

Chen Chi-chuan, a Taiwanese electrical and plumbing contractor, has been trapped with his wife in a 24th-floor hotel room for four weeks. y are t allowed out except to get meals left on a chair outside ir door by staff who kck and leave to avoid any contact that could risk infection.

couple was ordered to go to hotel in Shiyan, a Hubei city that was locked down as y were wrapping up a visit to see his wife's parents. Marris between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese are common and both sides see Lunar New Year as a time for family reunions.

y pay 165 yuan ($25) a night, three meals included, and wash ir clos by hand in bathroom. “We just watch TV programs, to hear some sort of sound, orwise it’s boring,” 51-year-old Chen said.

He is t related to Shelly Chen, hair salon franchisee. Both spoke with Associated Press via video on a messaging app.

Chen Chi-chuan worries about his business too. “I’m going to be fined, and re’s contract breach fees,” said Chen, a resident of Kaohsiung in sourn Taiwan. “Plus, I’ve got to come up with payment for my workers.”

His five prescription medications for a heart condition have run out, and a shipment he requested from relatives in Taiwan hasn’t arrived. He constantly checks groups he belongs to on WeChat, a popular Chinese social media platform, for updates on possible flights.

“Taiwan is always providing info and changing it but y haven’t progressed in saying when, just telling us to patiently wait," he said. “y’ve been saying to wait since Feb. 5. I can’t stand this — I’m almost out of money.”

Taiwan faces unique barriers to arranging flights, said Alexander Huang, a strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan. Negotiations have fallen to special appointees from two semi-governmental bodies, t governments mselves, he ted.

“Probably re are people in Taiwan, especially in politics, who want to show or countries we evacuated our own citizens just like you, and that’s exactly what China cant swallow,” he said.

Conversely, China might agree to flights only if re’s a way to “teach Taiwan a lesson,” he said.

"This is an almost unresolvable challenge for Taiwan," Huang said.

From rooftop of her parents’ house, Shelly Chen, hair salon operator, sees empty, dusty streets void of usual tangle of parked cars and people on ir way to work. Residents are only allowed out every three days to get groceries, based on preorders that are rationed to prevent hoarding.

She can see a blue-roofed Ministry of Civil Affairs shack across street, whose occupants would tell her to go back inside if she tried to leave.

“ psychological pressure is huge,” she said. “ whole night last night my he hurt and I didn’t sleep. I cry every day. I’ll tell you, I’ve given up hope.”