China announced a series of bans on Taiwanese products late last week. These are primarily seafood and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, such as beer and liquors...
It seems that articles that treat Taiwan as a geopolitical chess piece–with no agency of its own–are a dime a dozen these days. The latest example may be a piece in the Asia Times by Gabriel Honrada, which touts dramatically in its headline that the “US mulls scorched earth strategy for Taiwan...
The results of nine-in-one elections today resulted in the KMT regaining control of traditional territories in Taoyuan, Keelung, and Taipei, while edging out the DPP competition. On the other hand, the DPP held onto its own traditional territories in southern Taiwan in Tainan and Kaohsiung. However, the DPP clearly was unable to gain new ground or to hold onto traditional pan-Blue territory that it had captured in past years...
The 2022 midterm elections have, in some ways, been characterized by the absence of any animating core issue. In past years, the national referendum has allowed for local elections to crystallize around specific issues. For preceding elections, this has ranged from legalizing gay marriage to nuclear energy, opening up Taiwan to pork imports from the US, and the name that Taiwan would compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics under. This year, the only issue being voted on is that of lowering the voting age from the current twenty years old to eighteen years old...
Cross-strait relations are not the dominant frame of this election cycle. Namely, nine-in-one elections, which serve as midterms between presidential elections, are primarily about local issues rather than cross-strait issues. Cross-strait relations are for Taiwanese, after all, largely a matter of foreign policy...
Tuan Tuan, a giant panda at the Taipei Zoo, underwent euthanasia on November 19th after numerous epileptic seizures. Since the news broke that Tuan Tuan was sick with a brain tumor in September, his condition deteriorated, and experts from China also came to Taiwan for this reason. Chao Shian-Shao, the Taipei Zoo’s spokesperson, indicated that the zoo is committed to retaining Tuan Tuan’s living cells, such as sperm cells, somatic cells, and stem cells...
With elections looming this Saturday, it is significant to note what the KMT’s primary angles of attack on the Tsai administration and DPP have been...
Votes are still being counted for the US midterm elections, with many races still being up in the air. At present, Democrats have taken the Senate, while Republicans may end up controlling the House of Representatives...
The US midterm elections took place on Tuesday. Votes are still being counted several days later. Projections have Republicans winning the House, but possibly the Democrats holding the Senate. At press time, 46 Senate seats have been called for Democrats, while 48 seats have been called for Republicans. Likewise, 184 seats in the House of Representatives have been called for Democrats, while 207 have been called for Republicans...
King Mswati III visited Taiwan last month as part of the first visit to Taiwan by the monarch of Eswatini since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mswati III was a frequent visitor to Taiwan in the past, visiting on 17 other occasions...
