Taiwan Affairs Office

Greater Push for Transparency Occurs After Kinmen Speedboat Incident

An incident involving the drowning death of two Chinese fishermen, who were on a speedboat intruding in the territorial waters of Kinmen, continues to be politically contested. The two fishermen died after the speedboat they were on refused to consent to a search by the Taiwanese Coast Guard, attempted to flee, then capsized. Though two of the four people on the speedboat were pulled out of the water, the other two had no vital signs when this occurred...

Is China Seeking to Influence Cultural Preservation Efforts in Taiwan?

The Am Kehnn Cultural Workshop, an organization dedicated to cultural preservation efforts, stated on Facebook earlier this month that Beijing had sought to use United Front tactics to influence historical preservation efforts in Taiwan. This would be through funding projects to create public spaces in Taiwan, with the aim of influencing the end product...

Hsia Trip Results in Reaffirmation of 1992 Consensus

KMT vice chair Andrew Hsia once again traveled to China last week in order to meet with Chinese government officials. This included not only newly appointed Taiwan Affairs Office head Song Tao, who took office in December, but also CCP chief ideologist Wang Huning. Hsia has indicated in comments that the main portion of his trip is over, however, he will continue to travel around China to meet with Chinese businessmen in China...

Reports Of Taiwan Affairs Office Merger Denied By China, But Raise Questions About Taiwan Policy

Reports of a planned merger of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office with its Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Offices to form the “Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council” were later denied by China. But, either way, this does gesture towards recent acts by China which make it appear as though China seeks to streamline and make uniform its policies towards Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau...

Does China Realize Its Taiwan Strategy Has Failed?

With rumors of an impending shuffle in China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, including the replacement of Zhang Zhijun as its head, this may signal a shift in China’s attempts to lure Taiwan back into its fold. But while it is anyone’s guess as to what China’s next steps will be, it may be, in fact, hasty to assume that this means that China has realized that its Taiwan strategy has failed and so wishes to change tack...