Politics

What Does Taiwan’s Presidential Election Tell Us About Its Economic Prospects?

Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party secured his election as Taiwan’s 16th president on January 13, 2024. As the DPP extends its rule for another four years, the administration is likely to maintain President Tsai Ing-wen’s economic policies, notably diversifying the economy away from China. Navigating Taiwan’s export-oriented economy through the evolving US-China relationship will pose the most significant challenge for the new administration...

Volleyball Tournament the Latest Taiwanese Sporting Competition Cancelled Due to Chinese Pressure

Taiwan abruptly lost hosting rights for the Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship in the past week. Though the event was originally slated to take place in Taiwan from July 20th to July 27th, reportedly Chinese pressure has led to it being moved to Surabaya, Indonesia. Now, the event will take place from July 23 to July 30th. The volleyball championship is for players under 20...

Taiwan’s New President: Continuity, Priorities, Vision

It is no doubt that January 13, 2024, marked a pivotal moment in Taiwan’s political landscape as William Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in the presidential election, securing the mantle from Tsai Ing-wen. Garnering 5.59 million votes, Lai clinched 40.05% of the total ballots, signaling a new chapter in Taiwan’s leadership. Moreover, these elections had received the highest level of attention from the international community in recent memory, with roughly over 400 foreign media personnel in Taiwan covering the event...

The Taiwan People’s Party as the Kingmaker: What Does the Future Hold for the Party?

The results of the presidential and legislative elections, in many ways, confirmed predictions ahead of time. Late polling before the blackout period imposed ten days before elections showed Lai to have a significant lead ahead of his opponents, even if Ko Wen-je’s 3.7 million votes prove an impressive showing for the upstart TPP candidate. Indeed, in the early vote count, it appeared as though Ko could, in fact, be leading Hou, and it could not be ruled out from polls before the election results as to whether Ko or Hou was in second place...

Neither Green Nor Just: The DPP’s Reckoning With Environmental Justice

The Russian weaponization of gas supplies has sparked a renewed interest in Taiwan’s energy security, placing the DPP’s anti-nuclear policies at the centre of attention. On the one hand, both energy and national security experts have criticized the DPP’s continuing nuclear phase-out for pushing Taiwan, which in 2022 imported more than 97% of its energy, into an increasingly precarious position. The opposition, on the other hand, has criticised the party’s 2025 energy mix formula (i.e., 20% renewable energy, 30% coal, and 50% LNG) for its inconsistency with international trends, namely the increasing role of nuclear energy in global decarbonization efforts, which the DPP countered by referring to industry-wide trends, such as the renewable energy focus of the RE100 initiative, instead....