US-China relations

Trump, North Korea, And Taiwan

Brian Hioe
As a result of a recent US-Taiwan arms deal and increased tensions between the US and North Korea, an ally of China, some claim that this represents the worsening of US-China relations under the Trump administration after a period in which the Trump administration became strangely friendly with China, a country long at odds with the United States historically. This is a premature conclusion...
America and the Asia PacificEnglishInternationalJuly 20177 min read

US-Taiwan Arms Deal Temporary Extension Of Status Quo, Nothing More

Brian Hioe
News of an arms deal between the US and Taiwan will no doubt prove reassuring to those who bank on America as Taiwan’s guarantor of its existing de facto independence from China. Nevertheless, in truth, skepticism is needed. This is merely indicative of a temporary extension of the US-Taiwan status quo, rather than affirming a stronger stance on behalf of Taiwan by the Trump administration...
America and the Asia PacificEnglishInternationalJuly 20176 min read

Reflexive Defensiveness Of The Trump Administration From Western Commentators On Taiwan?

Brian Hioe
It is strange to observe the means by which many otherwise sharp western observers on Taiwanese politics, particularly Americans, continue to cling to strange delusions regarding Trump’s potential positive influence on Taiwan or at least his lack of any harmful influence on Taiwan. Such views may ultimately be reflexive in nature for many...
America and the Asia PacificEnglishInternationalMay 201719 min read

Threats To Regional Peace Set To Rise After North Korean Missile Test?

Brian Hioe
Many questions for regional peace in the Asia Pacific are up in the air after a failed missile test by North Korea today. It was speculated that North Korea may launch a nuclear missile test today to commemorate the birthday of Kim Il-Sung on April 15th. Today’s missile test was not a nuclear test, but it may precede such a test, and tensions will only increase in the region after it...
April 2017EnglishInternationalRegional Tensions7 min read

China’s Use Of America’s “War On Terror” To Justify The Suppression Of Its Muslim Population

Brian Hioe
Recent declarations by the Islamic State that it will target China in retaliation for its oppression of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang will probably only be met by further Chinese restrictions on the region. But China's responses are illustrative of to what extent China uses the discursive terms of America's War on Terror to justify its suppression of the Muslim majority Uyghur population in Xinjiang and other parts of China...
EnglishMarch 2017Politics6 min read