July 6, 2025

A former Chinese leader was giving a speech by the shore concerning new territorial claims in nearby waters. “These outlying islands will be like a new Taiwan!” He announced as he pointed towards the sea, which was met with a lot of confused murmurs from the crowd. Suddenly there was a large bout of cheering as the crowd chanted “Welcome, Taiwan! Welcome, Taiwan!”

I boarded a dingy and paddled through the waterways to reach one of the palace buildings. I deflated the boat after getting to the plaza and walked inside. There was some kind of promotional event for a vtuber going on.