October 2022

Few Surprises in 20th National Congress Comments on Taiwan by Xi

Brian Hioe
Comments by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the start of the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress highlighted Taiwan as an issue that he intends to address, as part of his political mandate ahead of what is expected to be a third term in office. Xi is expected to be confirmed for an unprecedented third term at the 20th National Congress, with the limit on the number of term limits that a Chinese leader can serve having been undone at the 19th National Congress in 2018. The 20th National Congress began on Sunday and is expected to last for several days...
Cross StraitEnglishInternationalOctober 20226 min read

Taiwan Reopens Borders, Even as COVID Policy Continues to Be Politically Contested

Brian Hioe
Taiwan is set for reopening, with visa-free entry reinstated for the US, Europe, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia in mid-September. Other countries such as Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines were added in late September. Likewise, quarantines are to be phased out today, October 13th. Instead of three-day quarantines, followed by a four-day self-health management period, there will be a shift towards seven days of self-health management...
EnglishOctober 2022Politics7 min read

Elon Musk Wades into Taiwan Commentary in Financial Times Profile

Brian Hioe
Elon Musk waded into commenting on cross-strait relations earlier this week in a Financial Times profile. In the profile, Musk suggests that Taiwan be made into a special administrative region of China, which would have more freedom than Hong Kong. According to Musk, though the proposal “probably won’t make everyone happy”, he thinks that “it’s possible, and I think probably, in fact, that they could have an arrangement that’s more lenient than Hong Kong"...
EnglishOctober 2022Politics7 min read

Mental Health Used for Political Attacks in Kaohsiung Race, Rather Than Discussed as a Significant Issue

Brian Hioe
Recent attacks on the DPP mayor of Kaohsiung, Chen Chi-mai, from the KMT’s Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en have hinged around the city’s suicide rate. Ko has pointed to the fact that eight bodies of Kaohsiung residents were found in Kaohsiung’s river in 37 days as a sign of Chen’s poor performance as mayor, insofar as it has affected the mental health of Kaohsiung residents. Ko has otherwise pointed to that there were 4,700 suicides in Kaohsiung in the past ten years, though Kaohsiung’s Health Bureau also responded that suicides were highest in 2019, during Han Kuo-yu’s brief tenure as mayor...
2022 ElectionsEnglishOctober 2022Politics5 min read