Tsai Ing-Wen

China May Be Seeking to Drive the Public into the KMT’s Arms Through Military Intimidation

Brian Hioe
A political spat between high-ranking KMT and DPP politicians broke out last month after comments by former president Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT regarding Taiwan’s national defense. According to Ma, in the event of a Chinese invasion, Taiwan’s military would not last for more than several days, as a result of which the “first battle would be the last battle.” Consequently, Ma referred to current president Tsai Ing-wen’s cross-strait policy as overly provocative of China, as having brought Taiwan to “the brink of war”...
EnglishPoliticsSeptember 20207 min read

Tsai Administration Opens Taiwan to American Beef and Pork Imports, Angling for a Trade Agreement

Brian Hioe
The Tsai administration surprised last week, with the announcement that it intended to open Taiwan up to beef and pork imports from America. The move is one which is clearly aimed at removing one of the major political hurdles to a bilateral trade agreement with the US, the US having made this into a precondition of a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan for well over a decade...
EnglishPoliticsSeptember 20208 min read

Taiwan Opens Representative Office in Somaliland

Brian Hioe
Plans for Taiwan to set up a representative office in Somaliland and, in turn, for Somaliland to set up a representative office in Taiwan have continued apace, despite pressure from China and Somalia. Taiwan’s representative office in Somaliland opened earlier this week, while Somaliland’s first representative to Taiwan, Mohamed Omar Hagi Mohamoud, arrived earlier this month...
August 2020EnglishInternationalRegional Tensions7 min read

Surprising Few, Chen Chi-mai Wins Kaohsiung Mayoral By-Election with Large Lead Over Opponents

Brian Hioe
It took few by surprise that Chen Chi-mai of the DPP was the winner of the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election today. Chen won by large margins, winning 70% of the vote, and defeating KMT candidate Jane Lee and TPP candidate Wu Yi-jheng. The by-election was the first by-election to replace a mayor who had been recalled from office in Taiwanese history...
August 2020EnglishPolitics10 min read

Comments by Ko at the TPP Congress Seek to Attack Tsai, While Appealing to Pan-Green Voters

Brian Hioe
Comments by Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je at the TPP's first national congress last week are telling about the current political orientation of the party, as well as the challenges it faces going forward. Ko raised eyebrows by calling for a ‘Silent Revolution” in Taiwanese politics at the party congress, a pointed criticism of the Tsai administration indicative of the party’s pan-Blue leanings. At the same time, Ko did not lean as heavily into pan-Blue rhetoric as much as he did during the TPP’s founding one year ago...
August 2020EnglishPolitics9 min read