The ‘Spy Swap’ That Wasn’t
Two jailed spies for Taiwan’s Military Intelligence Bureau were returned to Taiwan in October after Taipei granted early parole to a Chinese spy in what some foreign media outlets described this week...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 2 No. 48
Controversies surrounding KMT vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang’s real estate transactions have snowballed and hurt the already dismal KMT election campaign; DPP presidential candidate Tsai...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 2 No. 49
KMT vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang’s disclosure of disputed real estate transactions fails to convince the public and backfires; Chinese envoy Chen Deming warns that DPP presidential...
View ArticleThe Last Thorn on China’s Periphery
Like most major powers China contends with a plethora of economic, political and geopolitical problems. Start, for example, with its complex relations with the U.S., where it is now confronting a...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: The Wang Controversy is a Symptom of KMT Sclerosis
After the disaster that was Hung Hsiu-chu, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) initial pick for presidential candidate, it was expected that Taiwan’s ruling party—a political survivor if ever there...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 2 No. 50
The DPP sues pan-blue politicians over their sustained attacks on presidential candidate Tsai; Chinese investment targeting Taiwan’s two key semiconductor firms raises grave concerns; One of the...
View ArticleThat ‘One China’ Policy Thing
It’s actually a pretty straightforward matter, but with major elections approaching and more people than usual paying attention to and writing about politics in Taiwan, it is one that is worth...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 2 No. 51
Chinese hackers intensify their attacks on DPP members and local media to acquire information about the party’s policies and speeches; the KMT continues its negative campaign against DPP presidential...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: Why Some Young Taiwanese Might Not Be Able to Vote
It was a problem during the 2012 elections, and it’s going to be a problem again less than three weeks from now: Because of the timing of their final exams set by the Central Election Commission (CEC)...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: Taiwan-China Talks Won’t Collapse…Unless Beijing Lets Them
With Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) well ahead in the polls and a sustained negative campaign by the incumbent Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) failing to influence the numbers,...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 2 No. 52
Cross-strait relations were the focus of the first presidential debate; DPP presidential candidate Tsai is confident that cross-strait relations will remain stable and that the “1992 consensus” should...
View ArticleMind Your Language: Taiwan Isn’t the Provocateur in the Taiwan Strait
British author George Orwell, one of the greatest polemicists ever to have put ink to paper, once wrote that “Orthodoxy, of whatever colour, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style.” In that same...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 3 No. 1
One week left to the 2016 elections! The war over party list votes in the legislative election intensifies; the KMT ramps up its attacks against the DPP’s Tsai; China announces plans to allow transit...
View ArticleTaiwan’s America
At the risk of stating the obvious, no country is more important to Taiwan than the U.S. Not only does Washington have Taiwan’s back diplomatically — at least within the context of its one-China policy...
View ArticleTaiwanese Election Candidate Denied Entry Into Hong Kong
Amid mounting speculation surrounding the mysterious disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers, another development this week suggests a further erosion of freedoms in the Special Administrative...
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VOTE 2016: Two Ads, Two Worlds
The second-to-last week before the Jan. 16 elections has seen the airing of major campaign ads on behalf of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) calling for...
View ArticleTAIWAN INSIDER Vol. 3 No. 2
The general elections enter their final period with fierce campaigning, negative campaigns and lawsuits; DPP presidential candidate Tsai steps up security measures following intelligence on possible...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: What Young Taiwanese Voters Want
With youth shaping up to be a deciding factor in Taiwan’s Jan. 16 elections, the main political parties have directly appealed to the youth in recent weeks, with the “Walk with the Children”...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: Taiwan’s Election: Change Is a Good Thing
Politics is a bit like sailing through rough seas without proper navigational instruments: there’s a general idea as to the destination, but how to get there is very much an exercise of trial and...
View ArticleVOTE 2016: China’s State Media, Netizens React to Tsai’s Victory
Following Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) resounding victory on Saturday, the mood in Taiwan has been significantly upbeat. A Liberty Times editorial celebrated Tsai’s historic win. Tellingly, even the typically...
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