Take for example an article in Canada's Financial Post from last December 27 in which the Asia specialist Tom Grimmer made his predictions for "East Asian Hot Spots in 96." He anticipated that Beijing would turn up the heat on pro-independence sentiment in Taiwan around the time of the presidential elections, turning Taiwan into a global focal point.
連此間不很熟悉的加拿大金融郵報都曾在十二月二十七日刊登東亞問題專家葛理摩所預測的「九六年東亞熱點」，內中三月的台灣大選即以北京可能加溫其對台獨勢力的恫嚇，而被認為將成國際焦點。