As Scotland heads to the polls Thursday to vote on whether to become independent, one country with restive regions of its own is watching the debate unfold with nervousness and some mystification — China.
China has every reason to look askance at the idea of regions separating. It is facing persistent unrest in far-flung and resource-rich Tibet and Xinjiang, and also the matter of Taiwan, the self-ruled island China claims as its own.
In 2005, China enacted an "anti-secession law" that allows it to use force on Taiwan if deemed necessary. The law was seen as a warning to Taiwan's then-president, Chen Shui-bian, who angered the mainland with his independence-leaning rhetoric.