The strange saga of the TPP in the Trump era continues, with American president Donald Trump now suggesting that America may reenter the deal if presented with more favorable terms despite that Trump ran on a campaign promise to withdraw from the deal and did so three days into the start of his term...
A recent ban on hip hop on Chinese television and radio may be vaguely humorous, seeing as even just a month prior to the ban, Chinese state-run media was singing the praises of Chinese hip hop as a nationalistic export. Nevertheless, the unexpected nature of the ban evidences how quickly Chinese authorities react against social trends they see as threatening at present, as well as how the window for free expression in China—which has always been restricted when it came to politically sensitive topics—is sharply moving in a socially conservative direction...
A long running controversy regarding the removal of the ROC flag from US government websites is illustrative of how America’s stance on Taiwan is thought of in a permanent state of uncertainty for Taiwan...
The announcement this week by state-run power utility Taipower that it plans to seek approval from the Atomic Energy Commission for restarts of a nuclear reactor at Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant should be of little surprise. Namely, even if little discussed, the Tsai administration quietly approved nuclear reactor restarts in June of last year. It remains to be seen whether it will not only be the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant reactor that is approved for restarts...
A local controversy has broken out over plans by Taipower to build a coal-fired power plant in the Shenao Fishing Harbor in Ruifang District in eastern New Taipei City at an existing facility...
Anger has broken out from Taiwanese activists over the detention and questioning of sporting reform association Fair Game! TAIWAN! member Zhang Youxuan by police at the behest of the Chinese Taipei Volleyball Association...
Tragedy has broken out in Hualien following an earthquake at 11:50 PM yesterday that registered 6.4 on the Richter scale. At least five are dead, 254 are injured, and 88 missing following the quake. The Hualien earthquake also raises the possibility of a future uptick in seismic activity in Taiwan, raising the need to address longstanding issues concerning building safety codes and disaster preparedness in Taiwan, as well as touching on the debate regarding nuclear energy and its suitability to Taiwan...
Amending the so-called “Birdcage Referendum Act” has long been a demand of Taiwanese activists. In particular, holding a nationwide referendum was seen as a way to settle long-standing domestic issues in Taiwanese politics, such as with regards to the usage of nuclear energy in Taiwan, as well as the fundamental issue of independence versus unification, which goes to the heart of Taiwan’s unique political situation in global politics. It may not be too surprising, then, that calls for referendum have now become an object of political contestation on a number of issues. At least four campaigns for referendum are now under way in Taiwan that have been launched in the two months since changes to the Referendum Act in December of last year...
Divided views on Taipei mayor Ko Wen-Je are evident in what may be the beginnings of a spat between himself and the Tsai administration, with President Tsai Ing-Wen, who is also chair of the DPP, remaining vague in recent comments on whether the DPP will support him in 2018 elections but stressing that a show of common support for “Taiwanese values” is a necessary precondition for support...
With recent talks between the Vatican and China regarding the appointment of bishops in China, a new round of speculation that the Vatican will break relations with Taiwan in favor of normalizing relations with China has ensued. The Vatican currently recognizes Taiwan due to restrictions in China on the Catholic Church...
