Former president Ma Ying-jeou recently spoke at the Delphi Economic Forum in Athens. Before the forum even took place, however, his participation led to controversy due to the fact that the event’s website listed him as the “former president of Taipei"...
In comments made earlier this week, New Taipei mayor Hou You-yi expressed opposition to both Taiwanese independence and Beijing’s “One Country, Two Systems.” This is among the clearest articulation of a cross-strait stance by the New Taipei mayor to date, with Hou angling for the presidential nomination of the KMT. Otherwise, Hou committed to the defense of the ROC, which includes Matsu, Kinmen, and Penghu...
Conflict between the Keelung local government and the central government about a proposed referendum on a LNG terminal is reflective of political tensions between the two major political camps in Taiwan. The LNG terminal would be Taiwan’s fourth...
Ahead of elections, one notes that pan-Blue politicians are suddenly changing their tunes on cross-strait relations. This is particularly true with regard to how they articulate Taiwan’s relationship with the US. Such moves take place, however, at a time in which the pan-Blue camp’s cross-strait policy has been overshadowed by former president Ma Ying-jeou’s historic trip to China, as the first former Taiwanese leader to visit China in 70 years, in a similar timeframe to stopovers in the US by current president Tsai Ing-wen in which she met with US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy...
The sometimes blurry line between organized crime and electoral politics, particularly in rural parts of Taiwan, can be observed in the recent sentencing of former DPP county councilor Yan Xumao for amphetamine smuggling. In the first instance, Yan was sentenced to life imprisonment, though he can appeal...
A spat has broken out between Hsu Chiao-hsin, the KMT city councilor from Taipei, and senior members of the party. Hsu, known as something of a political firebrand and for being social media-savvy if often controversial, is one of the KMT’s most prominent younger politicians at age 33–if not the KMT’s most prominent young politician...
China has once again begun carrying out military exercises in response to a meeting between a Taiwanese president and a US Speaker of the House. In this case, on Saturday, China announced three days of military exercises following the meeting that took place between US Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy and Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday in California...
FoxConn founder Terry Gou announced his intentions to run for president earlier this week. Gou emphasized that he believed that “Taiwan needs a great CEO” to serve as its leader...
The KMT announced late last month that its primary process to decide its presidential candidate for 2024 elections would not take place as an open primary, but through a decision by the party’s standing committee...
