Taiwan

“I am a Taiwanese”: Eastern Europeans see a Cold War in East Asia
“I am a Taiwanese”: Eastern Europeans see a Cold War in East Asia
The politics of the Baltic states do not often create much of a stir in East Asia. That changed in October last year when the prime minister-elect of Lithuania, Ingrida Šimonytė,…
Taipei’s growing legion of friends
Taipei’s growing legion of friends
“If a major problem occurred in Taiwan, it would not be going too far to say it could be an existential threat [for Japan].” These are the words of Japanese Deputy Prime Minister…
Sweet and sour: Taiwan’s pork and pineapple battles
Sweet and sour: Taiwan’s pork and pineapple battles
In August, Taiwan will hold a referendum on whether to reinstate a ban on US pork containing the additive ractopamine. This could introduce a sour taste into otherwise positive…
Hsinchu: Taiwan’s city at the centre of China’s conundrum
Hsinchu: Taiwan’s city at the centre of China’s conundrum
Centres of power such as Beijing, Washington and Taipei have generated most of the headlines as the Taiwan challenge gets ever hotter. But, while these cities clearly have plenty…
Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision
Taiwan: Renewing a southbound vision
For all the talk of cross-Strait military tensions – which are real – in the economic realm, Taiwan’s fortunes have been bound to those of China. Recognising the need to…
Closer Taiwan-US ties are stabilising the region, not the opposite
Closer Taiwan-US ties are stabilising the region, not the opposite
Those who’ve been reading the news in the past few weeks could be forgiven for thinking we are on the precipice of war in the Taiwan Strait. Not only do some analysts argue that…
Taiwan: Rising stakes for Australia
Taiwan: Rising stakes for Australia
The Taiwan Strait is a key hotspot in the intensifying US-China rivalry, where the two superpowers’ spheres of influence overlap. Beijing claims the area as a uncompromisable …
The unfinished Chinese civil war
The unfinished Chinese civil war
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) war with the Kuomintang (KMT, or Nationalist Party) started in the 1920s, hit pause during the decade of anti-Japanese war and the Second World…
Taiwan tiptoes in cross-strait relations
Taiwan tiptoes in cross-strait relations
“The hills will be toppled and the earth will quake,” warned a metaphorically-minded Su Chi, former secretary-general of Taiwan’s National Security Council, ahead of Taiwan’s…
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
The semiconductor industry is where politics gets real for Taiwan
One might wonder how something as small as five nanometres – about the width of two strands of DNA – could be of consequence to the complex political relationships between the US,…