Controversy has broken out regarding Vincent Chao’s appointment as head of the political division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington. However, this controversy is primarily the product of attempts by members of the KMT to attack Chao...
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?...
With the defeat of Michael You and the victory of Cho Jung-tai in DPP chair elections, this has been read by many as signaling a mandate of confidence from DPP members in current president Tsai Ing-wen. Namely, Cho is seen as a Tsai protege, and You ran on a platform primarily characterized by its antagonism to Tsai...
Calls are on the rise within the DPP to replace current president Tsai Ing-wen as the DPP’s candidate in 2020 presidential elections. Namely, pan-Green traditionalists, generally skewing towards the deep Green end of the political spectrum, are unhappy with Tsai’s performance as president to date. However, splits have also developed with those within the DPP and pan-Green camp that do not call for Tsai's replacement...
With Tsai Ing-wen having resigned her position as DPP chair to take responsibility for the DPP’s defeats in nine-in-one elections last month, it remains a question as to who will be the DPP’s next chair...
During the annual Shanghai-Taipei forum which took place in Taipei on Thursday, Ko Wen-je doubled down on the stance he has taken on cross-strait relations by once again making public statements that there is “one family on both sides of the Taiwan Straits”...
A recent move by Taiwanese representative offices to change their Facebook profiles to read “Taiwan” instead of some variant of “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office” has received some attention in Taiwan as a small push towards asserting Taiwan as an independent polity...
It seems highly likely that KMT city mayors will pursue a strategy of carrying out city-level exchanges with China going forward, a model originally pioneered by Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je that Kaohsiung mayor-elect Han Kuo-yu has also taken up. However, some DPP mayors may also be tempted to do the same, as observed in the example of Tainan mayor-elect Huang Wei-che expressing public interest in visiting China much like Ko or Han...
Political contestation regarding gay marriage continues in Taiwan, with pro-marriage equality groups and anti-gay groups still contesting the issue. The legal terrain has become further complicated since late November...
