Xi Jinping

Questions Raised About Normalization of Chinese Military Drills, Following Live-Fire Exercises Around Taiwan

Brian Hioe
It remains opaque as to whether military drilling by China around Taiwan will continue in the coming days. Namely, although the People’s Liberation Army initially announced that its four days of live-fire drills would end on Sunday, yesterday it announced that military exercises in the area would continue. The drills are an escalation for the Chinese military, seeing as they take place closer to Taiwan than took place during the Third Taiwan Straits Crisis...
August 2022EnglishInternationalRegional Tensions7 min read

First Day of Chinese Live-Fire Drills Around Taiwan See Missile Launches, Relative Calm in Taiwan

Brian Hioe
Today was the first day of live-fire drills conducted by the People’s Liberation Army in maritime areas around Taiwan. The drills are as close as 20 kilometers to metropolises such as Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s major southern port city, and are nine kilometers away from the island of Little Liuqiu. Another zone was added by the Maritime and Port Bureau for ships to avoid during the drilling, which is to last until Sunday, bringing the number of such zones to 7...
August 2022EnglishInternationalRegional Tensions7 min read

Biden Comments Suggest Disapproval of Pelosi Visit to Taiwan

Brian Hioe
A scoop by the Financial Times on Tuesday reported that US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi planned to visit Taiwan next month. However, US president Joe Biden surprised today with apparent off-the-cuff comments suggesting that his administration viewed the Pelosi visit as a bad idea. When asked about the prospect of a Pelosi visit, Biden stated, “Well, I think that the military thinks it’s not a good idea right now. But I don’t know what the status of it is”...
EnglishInternationalJuly 2022Regional Tensions8 min read

John Lee Takes Power as Chief Executive in Hong Kong

Brian Hioe
Hong Kong has a new political leader, with John Lee sworn into office on July 1st, which also marks the anniversary of the 1997 Handover of Hong Kong from British control to Chinese control. Marking the importance of the occasion, no less than Chinese president Xi Jinping visited Hong Kong for Lee’s swearing-in ceremony. This was Xi’s first trip outside of the Chinese mainland since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic...
EnglishJuly 2022Politics5 min read

Where Does Taiwan Stand Regarding the Ukraine Crisis?

Brian Hioe
Since a provocative speech by Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier this week, one has seen a number of comparisons between Ukraine and Taiwan circulating in the media. In Putin’s speech, he declared that he did not view Ukraine as qualifying to be a nation-state but as an entity that had been created by the Soviet Union, while also stating that Russia would on the other hand acknowledge separatist-controlled regions in Donetsk and Luhansk. It may not be surprising, then, that there have been comparisons made to Taiwan, or reflection upon how this affects Taiwan...
EnglishFebruary 2022InternationalRegional Tensions11 min read

Xi and Biden Meet in Virtual Summit Over Taiwan, Other Issues

Brian Hioe
US president Joe Biden met with Chinese president Xi Jinping today in a virtual meeting. This was one of the most high-profile meetings between the leaders of the world’s two superpowers since Biden took office, with Xi having not left China in around two years. As a result, Xi was not in attendance at the COP26 summit on global carbon emissions, something that was criticized by Biden. The meeting took place on what was Tuesday morning in China and Monday evening in the US...
EnglishInternationalNovember 2021Regional Tensions7 min read

Biden Again Creates Confusion After Comments Suggesting US Commitment to Defend Taiwan From Invasion

Brian Hioe
US president Joe Biden again created confusion regarding the US position on Taiwan today during a town hall held by CNN. In response to a question about whether he would vow to protect Taiwan and what he would do to compete with China militarily, following Chinese tests of a hypersonic missile, Biden stated “Yes and yes"...
America and the Asia PacificEnglishInternationalOctober 20217 min read