Massive city-wide protests kicked off in Hong Kong in 2019, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to the streets demanding greater autonomy from China.
Riot police suppressed the at times violent protests, and Beijing enacted a draconian national security law the following year to quell dissent -- effectively silencing opposition voices in Hong Kong's once-raucous civil society.
A one-hour flight away in democratic Taiwan, voters watched the news in horror and overwhelmingly cast their ballots for President Tsai Ing-wen in the 2020 election.
Her campaign frequently invoked Hong Kong as a warning of what might lie ahead should China take control of Taiwan, as Beijing claims the island as its territory and has consistently vowed "unification".
Four years on, Hong Kong's current state -- quietened with much of civil society slashed and many democracy activists and lawmakers fled abroad -- has cemented Taiwanese opinions on China's doctrine governing the former British colony.
"Hong Kong is a case example of the failure of 'one country, two systems' for Taiwanese," Ivy Kwek of the International Crisis Group told AFP.
"A lot of Taiwanese look at Hong Kong and they really see that this is not the kind of (system) they would ever be able to accept."
You Sian-ming, a former police officer and now a travel agency manager, was firm as he declared his opposition to the Chinese doctrine.
"'One country, two systems' is just a lie told by the Chinese Communist Party when they wanted to take Hong Kong back," You told AFP, referring to Hong Kong's handover to China from Britain in 1997.
"It's a play of words to cover up their actual intention."
- Three parties reject -
China has never ruled out the use of force to seize Taiwan, and Chinese President Xi Jinping has in recent years upped the rhetoric of "unification".
But it remains deeply unpopular in democratic Taiwan, which for decades has had its own government, military, flag, and -- as more than 90 percent of Taiwanese see it -- identity.
The Chinese doctrine of "one country, two systems" permeated the political conversation in the lead-up to Saturday's poll -- with all three presidential candidates firmly voicing their opposition to it.
Even the opposition Kuomintang -- regarded as having the friendliest ties to Beijing and which campaigned on the platform of fostering closer cooperation with the mainland -- resoundingly rejected it.
Kuomintang supporter You said he doesn't like the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), whose candidate Lai Ching-te comfortably won the top seat Saturday.
But he scoffed at being part of "one country" with China.
"Taiwan is Taiwan. We have our own land, our own government and our own army. I am loyal to only one country and it's called the Republic of China, Taiwan," the 58-year-old told AFP.
Rita Lo, a service industry worker in her 50s, said she cannot accept Taiwan becoming part of communist China in any manner.
"I don't like rule by force. If we become part of China, we won't be able to keep our democracy and our way of life," she said, adding: "Look how miserable Hong Kong has become".
- 'Not one country' -
The election saw many Hong Kong tourists visiting Taiwan to see the election, with some attending rallies and listening to Taiwanese argue over the different candidates.
"It feels like Hong Kong in 2019 when many people would come out for what they believed," said Gor Gor, 24, who attended DPP's final rally.
She added that whoever the Taiwanese chose, it should be a candidate that would not "let Taiwan morph into another Hong Kong".
Nearly 90 percent of Taiwanese support maintaining the status quo, in which the island neither declares formal independence -- as it would enrage China -- nor gets enfolded into the mainland.
"I just want to maintain the status quo, meaning not getting any worse but at the same time I am not eager to improve the relationship," said construction worker Mike, 28.
And if China wants "one country, two systems"?
"We are not in, because we are not one country," he said.
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