A recent Substack post by Christian Whiton, an advisor to the Bush and Trump administrations, proves an odd fever dream about Taiwan. Even if not framed in such terms, the gist of Whiton’s argument about Taiwan is, in effect, that the Trump administration’s recent actions directed toward Taiwan are driven by a lack of faith in Taiwan because of its embrace of the woke Left...
At a time of increased securitization in Taiwanese society, the alarm has been raised regarding Chinese over-the-top (OTT) boxes, allowing for access to Chinese streaming services in Taiwan...
The KMT has continued to lean into the idea of cash handouts to the citizenry. The idea has now shifted to be framed as an emergency relief measure for the Trump administration’s tariffs, which will have a significant impact on Taiwan and the world...
Unsurprisingly, the tariffs that US President Donald Trump has threatened the world with have led to strong reactions in Taiwan. In particular, Trump originally suggested that Taiwan would face 32% tariffs, having previously lashed out at Taiwan for “stealing” the US semiconductor industry and suggesting that Taiwan should pay the US for its defense...
Shares for the Taiwan Stock Exchange, or Taiex, plunged yesterday by 9.7% at opening. What ensued was the largest one-day drop on record for Taiex, triggering a circuit breaker that briefly halted trading. Tuesday proved similar, with steep drops at open...
Taiwan reported record-high tax revenue for 2024, with 3.73 trillion NT in taxes collected. This is a larger windfall than expected, in that there were 497.2 billion NT more in taxes than budgeted for by the government. The extra revenue is due to strong exports, as well as stock gains because of market enthusiasm about artificial intelligence...
With Chinese residents of Fujian and Shanghai set to be allowed to resume group tours to Taiwan in the near future, it proves a question as to how Chinese and Taiwanese authorities will collaborate on managing such tours...
Now that the election results are in, the period of intense suspense and electoral speculation has concluded. The issue of cross-strait relations remains unresolved, as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) insists that the Republic of China (ROC), often known as Taiwan, is a separatist province of the mainland and aims for reunification. For the first time in history, Taiwan has re-elected the same political party to govern the democratic island for a third consecutive term. The election of Lai Ching-te on Saturday signifies a strong counter to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) forceful stance and intimidation tactics towards the island. The primary challenge now is how Lai’s new government will maintain its relations with Beijing and navigate the complex triangular dynamics of the US, China, and Taiwan...
