Cheng Li-Wun Redefines 1992 Consensus, Calls for United Front Against Independence in Xi Meeting

Brian Hioe

No, Cheng’s Trip to China Does Not Break New Ground

Brian Hioe

Optics of Yellow Emperor Commemoration Before Cheng Visit Are Revealing

Brian Hioe

New Ethnic Law in China Could Be Used to Justify Targeting Taiwanese

Brian Hioe

Rare Diplomatic Spat Occurs Between Taiwan and South Korea Over E-Arrival System

Brian Hioe

International

Does China Not Intend to Invade by 2027?

Brian Hioe
A report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence states that China does not intend to invade Taiwan in 2027. The report, which is the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, takes the view that China does not have a fixed timeline for achieving unification and that China is more likely to continue with efforts to achieve unification that do not require military force. Instead, the report states that China is more likely to try to achieve unification by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, which is in 1947, as part of aspirations to achieve “national rejuvenation.”...
EnglishInternationalMarch 2026PoliticsRegional Tensions4 min read

Chinese Government Seeks to Depict Itself as Assisting Repatriation of Taiwanese in Middle East

Brian Hioe
The Chinese government has claimed that it assisted the return of 93 Taiwanese stranded in the Middle East after the outbreak of war there. This is a familiar narrative from the Chinese government, which often seeks to depict the Taiwanese government as inept and weak when it comes to natural disasters, geopolitical tensions, or other emergencies. In claiming to facilitate the return of Taiwanese home in a way that the Taiwanese government cannot, the Chinese government would also be seeking to project a sense of global influence...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalMarch 2026Politics3 min read

Why Did Chinese Air Incursions Decrease to Zero Earlier This Month?

Brian Hioe
China's air incursions dropped to zero earlier this month for close to a two-week period, leading to questions as to why that had taken place. Reflective of the media discourse of today, in which hot takes prevail, there was immediately a large wave of rampant speculation on the Internet. Chinese air incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone–the airspace in which aircraft identify themselves for security purposes–have increased to a near-daily basis since the August 2022 visit to Taiwan by then-US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi...
Cross StraitEnglishFeaturedInternationalMarch 2026Politics4 min read

What Does the KMT’s Version of the Special Budget for Defense Tell Us?

Brian Hioe
The KMT has finally released its own version of the special defense budget. This proves, in some sense, a reversal of stance for the KMT, which previously sought to block any arms purchases from the US by way of the special defense budget, voting this down ten times. This occurred with the claim that the US was simply trying to foist useless weapons onto Taiwan through arms purchases and that arms purchases would, in fact, provoke China to further hostilities directed at Taiwan...
America and the Asia PacificCross StraitEnglishInternationalMarch 2026Regional Tensions5 min read