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News on China-Taiwan Relations

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Best foot forward

Taiwan’s richest man doesn’t make chips – he manufactures sneakers
May 14, 2021 (WiC 540)

The story of sneakers begins in 1839 when an American scientist called Charles Goodyear found a way of treating rubber with sulphur. The technique, known as vulcanisation, made for a pliable and resilient material. In the 1870s it was applied to ...

Troubled waters

A drought and a wastewater plan add to cross-Strait tensions
Apr 23, 2021 (WiC 537)

Some of the world’s biggest battles over the last century have been fought over oil. But Kamala Harris, the American vice-president, thinks that more of the conflicts of the future will be waged over another commodity. “I would suggest to you ...

Diplomatic exit

Beijing can’t wait to see the back of Mike Pompeo
Jan 15, 2021 (WiC 524)

In the view of many Chinese diplomats, Henry Kissinger is the statesman that contributed most to Sino-US relations. Considered “an old friend of the Chinese people”, the former US secretary of state has met every Chinese leader from Mao ...

Beijing waits for signs of a Biden reset on Taiwan
Nov 27, 2020 (WiC 520)

Donald Trump’s often confrontational stance towards Beijing has won him fans in Taiwan, including figures in the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Senior DPP politicians have shown ostentatious support for the US president ...

Fisticuffs in Fiji and spy arrests signal new low
Oct 23, 2020 (WiC 515)

Not on the list to a party? Mainland Chinese diplomats apparently did not think it would be a problem as they crashed an event in Fiji hosted by Taiwan’s trade office this month. The occasion was meant to celebrate Taiwan’s National Day (on ...

Taiwanese starlet in row over song
Oct 9, 2020 (WiC 514)

Taiwan’s cultural critic and democracy advocate Lung Ying-tai has long argued that an authoritarian regime cannot produce great songs. In 2016 when Lung gave a speech in Hong Kong about music, she asked the audience to name the song that ...

Crossing the line

A new round of tensions bring the Taiwan Strait closer to conflict
Sep 25, 2020 (WiC 512)

Democracy as an ‘idea’ originated in ancient Greece. For the Chinese, ‘unity’ is a core Confucian value that has been upheld for a similar duration of more than 2,200 years. This helps to explain the rather different interpretations of ...

Exercise with care

Military drills take centre-stage in latest round of Sino-US tensions
Aug 21, 2020 (WiC 507)

To nobody’s great surprise the six-month review of January’s trade agreement between Washington and Beijing has been postponed. “I don’t want to talk to China right now,” Donald Trump, the US president, explained on Tuesday. But with ...

Rocky relations

Taiwan in difficult position as South China Sea tensions flare again
Jul 31, 2020 (WiC 506)

Once upon a time the United States supported Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea. The American military even gifted a fleet of vessels to the Chinese navy (then virtually shipless) to claim the Spratly Islands, which are now claimed ...

The rise and fall of one of Taiwan’s most colourful politicians
Jun 12, 2020 (WiC 499)

Han Kuo-yu was first elected to Taiwan’s legislative body in 1992. His political career started with a literal bang when he slapped Chen Shui-bian, another lawmaker, in a debate about war veterans. In 1994 Han was one of four KMT lawmakers ...

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