With a recent proposal by Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu to create free economic zones within Kaohsiung, one observes the unusual revival of a Ma era political idea: the establishment of special economic zones within Taiwan. Perhaps this should not surprise...
Two Chinese J-11 fighter aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Straits at 11 AM yesterday morning, provoking strong reactions from within Taiwan and prompting the Taiwanese air force to mobilize five fighter planes in response. The incident was a break from precedent, seeing as while Chinese regularly fields planes in the Taiwan Straits, they do not usually cross the median line of the Taiwan Straits...
The meeting last week between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and American president Donald Trump offers lessons for Taiwan in terms of Trump’s unpredictability...
For decades, political debate in Taiwan has been defined by the clash between those advocating further integration with the mainland and those demanding independence—bearing striking resemblance to the UK's Brexit saga. But where Taiwan is clear on its goals and uncertain of its options, the UK remains bitterly divided in the face of a bleak but clear dilemma...
Responding to a call for progress towards an independence referendum, the American Institute in Taiwan, America’s de facto embassy in Taiwan has explicitly rejected efforts to change Taiwan’s status quo. The move is paradoxical. While the US praises Taiwan for its democracy and states that the decisions to island’s future should be left to the people of Taiwan, it at the same time hopes to discourage the people of Taiwan from making a decision on their political future...
A group of Republican senators recently called on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to invite Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen to speak at a session of the US Congress. However, this notion would be criticized by former AIT head Richard Bush, among others. Bush would later also criticize the notion of the holding a referendum on Taiwanese independence, something later backed up by comments from AIT stating that America would not be in support of a referendum...
Concerns have been raised that a recent incident involving an Air New Zealand flight not being allowed to land in China and having to turn back because of paperwork referring to Taiwan signify a new measure taken by the Chinese government to crack down on companies that do not take the view that Taiwan is part of China...
Taiwanese political leaders took the opportunity to criticize China’s lack of democracy in their Lunar New Year’s messages, as observed in speeches by president Tsai Ing-wen and premier Su Tseng-chang...
As Taiwanese NGO worker Lee Ming-che approaches his 700th day in jail, Chinese actions to retaliate against his family for efforts to continue to advocate for his release have escalated...
A fierce confrontation took place between Chinese president Xi Jinping and Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen over the new year. In response to statements by Xi on the 40th anniversary of the “Message to the Compatriots of Taiwan,” which could be described as a threat, Tsai’s quick and immediate response rallied the Taiwanese public and pressured the media and forced politicians across the political spectrum to affirm their stances in response. But what now?...
