Regional Tensions

KMT Delegation Visits Itu Aba/Taiping Island to Pressure Incoming Lai Administration

Ten KMT legislators visited Itu Aba/Taiping Island yesterday. Originally, a delegation of twenty legislators were to visit Itu Aba/Taiping Island, but clashes in the legislature over efforts by the KMT to expand legislative powers to allow for the ability to question private individuals and organizations and prosecute them if they do not comply went on into the late night on Friday. As such, half of the original delegation canceled. The visit was likely timed for before the Lai inauguration tomorrow, but the visit has since become overshadowed by news of the clashes, which in itself has become the main news item that casts a shadow over the inauguration...

TSMC’s Development of Arizona Semiconductor Plant Could Have Implications for Taiwan’s Security

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company recently won a $6.6 billion grant from the US Department of Commerce to subsidize the construction of three semiconductor manufacturing fabrication plants in Phoenix, Arizona. The total package could come to $11.6 billion, inclusive of loans. This is the largest cash grant the US has awarded a foreign company and the largest single greenfield project by a foreign company in US history...

Chinese Efforts to Intimidate Taiwan Continue During Hsiao Bikhim’s Trip to Europe

An incident involving the following of Taiwanese Vice President-elect Hsiao Bikhim’s motorcade by a vehicle driven by a Chinese military attache in Prague last week proves revealing. The Chinese military attache was following Hsiao in a vehicle, as a means of harassment, and was stopped by Czech police due to his following Hsiao’s motorcade...

With Mere Days Before Elections, Missile Alert About Chinese Satellite Launch Leads to Confusion, Panic

A text message alert sounded this afternoon in Taiwan shortly after 3 PM, alerting that a rocket had been fired over Taiwan. What ensued, however, was significant confusion between the English and Chinese. The Chinese stated that a “satellite” had been fired over Taiwan by China. By contrast, the English stated that a “missile” had been fired over Taiwan...

Does “Hong Kong Influence” Linger in the 2024 Taiwan Election?

It has been widely recognized that Hong Kong’s Anti-Extradition Movement in 2019 was the turning point of the 2020 General Election in Taiwan. In the last general election, Beijing’s hardline crackdown on the protests in Hong Kong gave rise to the Taiwanese’s mistrust of China and finally brought a big win to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which was expected to lose both their majority over the Legislative Yuan and their presidency. But after three years of National Security Law (NSL) enactment in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong issue in this general election seems no longer as focal as it was. How should we make sense of this huge contrast in attention? Has “Hong Kong Influence” faded out totally...

KMT Seeks to Attack Tsai Administration Over US and Chinese Vessels Passing Near Itu Aba/Taiping Island

The presence of Chinese and US military vessels around Itu Aba, also known as Taiping Island, earlier this month has led to allegations by KMT legislators against the Coast Guard Administration. By extension, the attempt would be to make the Tsai administration look as though it has compromised on national sovereignty...

One-Day Uptick in Chinese Military Activity Observed After Lai Transit

China launched another set of military drills after vice president William Lai returned from his trip to the US and Paraguay. Lai’s trip involved a stopover in San Francisco and New York City. Though the ostensible main purpose of the trip was to attend the presidential inauguration of Paraguayan president Santiago Peña, there was greater attention to the sensitivity of Lai’s transit through the US, given the possibility of a reaction from China...