The KMT’s conflicted position on budgeting–as well as the military–is apparent with recent moves. Namely, the KMT has acted to increase the monthly allowance of voluntary soldiers to 30,000 NT. This is an increase of over 15,000 NT...
An escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait—whether it transpires as a maritime blockade or a kinetic attack—would bring about disastrous social and economic consequences. Given the importance of the Taiwan Strait to international maritime trade and Taiwan’s critical role in supply chains of strategic technologies, including semiconductors, crisis scenarios consider several grave repercussions. These include immediate disruptions to global economic activity valued at over two trillion dollars, threats to Japan’s energy security, and shortages in the EU, which would exacerbate economic inequality, poverty, and the functioning of critical sectors...
In its quest to diversify its political and economic engagements with the world, Taiwan keeps looking south. At the recent Yushan Forum, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation Chairman Michael Hsiao proudly announced the launch of six new strategic corridors under the framework of the New Southbound Policy (NSP). This includes government-led initiatives to facilitate cooperation on technology, health, and resilience, as well as think tank, NGO, and youth corridors led by civil society...
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority has begun blocking Taiwanese passport holders from entering Somalia, citing “One China” and UN Resolution 2758. This proves an unusual move...
Cambodia has sent 179 Taiwanese fraud suspects to China. This is thought to be a gesture of goodwill by Cambodia to China, as a gesture of recognizing China’s claims of sovereignty over Taiwan...
Shares for the Taiwan Stock Exchange, or Taiex, plunged yesterday by 9.7% at opening. What ensued was the largest one-day drop on record for Taiex, triggering a circuit breaker that briefly halted trading. Tuesday proved similar, with steep drops at open...
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is the first Filipino and the first Asian to be arrested by the International Criminal Court. He has been accused of orchestrating a series of extrajudicial killings (EJKs) that occurred during his time as mayor of Davao City (2011–2016) and continued under his anti-drug campaign as president (2016–2019). According to the ICC Prosecutor, this falls under what is called crimes against humanity—killings or exterminations committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population...
A Taiwanese rescue team dispatched to Myanmar in the wake of the 7.7 earthquake that struck the country earlier this week has been dissolved after more than 48 hours on standby. Reportedly, neither the Thai authorities nor the Myanmar authorities responded to Taiwan’s offer of assistance after both countries were impacted by the earthquake, collapsing buildings, and killing thousands...
The KMT has hit out at the Kuma Academy as of late, with continued accusations over the Kuma Academy’s funding. The Kuma Academy is one of, but not the only, Taiwan’s civil defense training organizations...
The geopolitical effects of a testy exchange between US president Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House are already being felt worldwide...
