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“She’s now the leader of the Western movement recognizing the existence of a democratic Taiwan, aiming to break Beijing’s “one-China principle…” A Taiwanese political scientist argues the 19-hour visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have real lasting impact.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the rules of diplomacy. As Russia and China show budding unity, the world’s diplomats must look at the effects of Eastern Europe on East Asia — and Taiwan specifically.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has put China’s stance on Taiwan back in the spotlight. But despite shared narratives of national unity, there are key differences in how Beijing and Moscow approach territories they consider their own.
The United States has no treaty obligation to send troops to protect Taiwan against China, but it has a “fairly clear” commitment to aid its defense, unlike in Ukraine. The economic stakes are also a source for worry.
Do you long for bedtime stories told remotely? Or miss the companionship a voice provides? There’s an app for that, which also responds to special COVID-19 needs of dating apps that allows for more direct online communication.
If not for a Polish shopper, it might have remained lost in translation for all the Taiwanese parents who’ve bought their kids the popular toy cactus that raps in some exotic language. But a Polish mother living in the city of Taichung was doing some grocery shopping with her baby at the local Carrefour when […]
After having just a handful of cases, the virus is suddenly spreading on the island nation. Despite a relatively loose lockdown, residents boast that they know how to shut COVID down on their own.
On this subtropical island, Chien-hao Chen fought typhoons and monsoons to develop his vineyards — and to produce wines admired by some of the most important oenologists.
-OpEd- TAIPEI — It was back on May 24, 2017 that Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that the constitutional right to equality and freedom of marriage also takes into account same-sex couples. Yet it took two years until the moment earlier this month — after layers of difficulties, including three homophobic referenda led by conservative and […]
The referenda that rejected marriage equality in Taiwan last month was not only a huge blow to the country’s LGBT community, but also a political setback to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Two years ago, It was the DPP that had originally taken to Parliament the proposed amendment of Taiwan’s Civil Code to allow […]
While the world is focused on Catalan and Kurdish movements for nationhood, Taiwan lives in the shadow of both mainland China and its own political contradictions.
PARIS — Last month, I made my annual trip back to Taiwan around the Chinese New Year to see my parents. My mother, who is 86, has not being doing too badly even though she has a mild but progressive form of Alzheimer’s, diagnosed six years ago. She has continued to do her daily Qigong […]
PARIS — I first heard the news with a text message from my son late last Friday night: Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen had spoken by telephone with Donald Trump. I cannot describe the joy I felt. This was the best piece of news for Taiwan in more than 30 years, even eclipsing for me the […]
The Islamic State has been significantly weakened, at least from a military point of view, in Iraq and Syria. But the final blow keeps being postponed, even as jihadists strike in the heart of the West.
BEIJING — The setting is Singapore, where the two sides had a semi-official contact in 1992, giving the news a pleasant whiff of nostalgia. The summit on Saturday between Ma Ying-jeou of Taiwan and Xi Jinping of China is historic indeed: It is the first meeting between leaders of both sides of the Taiwan Strait […]
A visitor from mainland China reflects on Taiwan’s love affair with the always-open, eternally stocked convenience store.
On March 18, hundreds of Taiwanese university students stormed and occupied the Legislative Yuan, the island nation’s parliament. Five days later, they joined other civic groups and invaded the Executive Yuan, before being evicted forcibly by the police. In technical terms, the demonstrators were protesting the unilateral decision of Taiwan’s ruling party to pass the […]
TAIPEI – It was at 10 p.m., after she had attended yet another social event, that Lu Yuexiang was finally able to meet us at the restaurant. Lu, 48, is the chairperson of the Chinese Production Party, which she founded in 2010 to fight for the rights of mainland-Chinese immigrants in Taiwan. The party, which […]
VATICAN CITY – Three years ago, on the eve of Pope Benedict XVI’s departure for the Mediterranean island of Cyprus, it was the murder of Luigi Padovese, the vicar apostolic of Turkey, which loomed over the trip. This time it is the killing of four U.S. diplomats in Benghazi and the uprising across the region […]
TAIPEI – Flags have a particular knack for causing trouble in Taiwan, the de facto sovereign island state, which is nevertheless still lacking full sovereignty and therefore does not have much say in the matter when it comes to showing off its national colors. The Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan) is participating […]