Worldcrunch
Soon after the Ukraine war began, the world began to ask: Where next? There were fears not just that Russia would try to expand its sphere of influence in the region, but that the war could set off other simmering conflicts around the world. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our […]
The death of the former Japanese Prime Minister has provoked different reactions between mainland China and Taiwan, but also between government officials and the public in the People’s Republic. Looking ahead, will Japan’s pro-Taiwan stance stick for the long haul?
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.
China is already profiting from the West’s economic divorce from Russia. But its biggest interest may be to learn from Russia’s experience of invading a land it claims for itself.
As Russia and China push their way to the top of the power heap, and the United States balks at playing global police force, expect fundamental changes to accepted norms governing international affairs.
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.
? Сәлем!* Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. wins bid to extradite whistleblower Julian Assange, Nicaragua breaks off ties with Taiwan to align with China and Sweden takes issue with IKEA branding. In the wake of New Zealand’s plans to ban all future cigarette sales, we take a look at toughening smoking laws around the […]
Can the countries the United States have invited to an exclusive summit on democracy safeguard and spread a system that is inherently flawed and fragile?
? Здраво!* Welcome to Friday, where Joe Biden vows to protect Taiwan from China, Alec Baldwin accidentally kills a cinematographer, and can you guess what day it is TODAY? We also have a report from a researcher in San Diego, USA on the sociological dark side of food trucks. [*Zdravo – Macedonian] SPOTLIGHT Iran-Saudi […]
? Bună ziua!* Welcome to Thursday, where a blaze at a Taiwan tower kills at least 46, a suspect is in custody in the deadly Norway bow-and-arrow attack and scientists try to count walruses from space. We also take a look at what unites and opposes Russia’s Vladimir and Ukraine’s Volodymir. [*Romanian] 7 THINGS […]
? Hallo!* Welcome to Monday, where American and Taliban negotiators sat down for the first time since the U.S. withdrawal, Taiwan’s president pushes back on China threats and a couple is accused of selling nuclear submarine secrets. We also look at the migratory path of the international bubble tea craze. [*Norwegian] 7 THINGS TO […]
Originating in Taiwan, bubble tea was one of many products hard hit by the pandemic. But the internationally-beloved, tapioca-based drink isn’t just any import any longer — it’s an entire culture.
Despite a recent record number of Chinese military jets approaching Taiwanese air space, both citizens and leaders in the island nation have developed a method for living with the threat of an invasion from China.
? добры дзень!* Welcome to Wednesday, where China/Taiwan tensions rise, Mark Zuckerberg responds to the Facebook whistleblower, and artworks by Muhammad Ali (gloves off) sell at auction. Kiev-based news website Livy Bereg also explains why the Pandora Papers revelations about global financial trickery may hit hardest in Ukraine. [*Dobry dzien – Belarusian] 7 THINGS […]
? Na ngeen def!* Welcome to Tuesday, where much of the world gets back online after a six-hour outage of Facebook-linked apps, the rich and powerful try to close the Pandora Papers box, and a Star Trek icon will boldly go where few have gone before. And remember that polluted Argentine lake that turned pink […]
No other European state strikes a more confident tone toward China than Lithuania. Vilnius is resisting all the usual means of pressure — and has a clear demand that Europe and Germany defend their values.
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.
East Asia is home to 30% of the world’s population but has recorded only 2.4% of the COVID-19 global death toll. Scientists are looking at possible immunity from past epidemics or even genetics.
Beijing imposed a national security law in Hong Kong on May 28 to counteract its secessionist tendencies. What is at stake here for the former British colony?
Taiwan’s success in containing the coronavirus is certainly cause for celebration, and to really emphasize the point, farmers in one agricultural region decided this week that it’s high time to break out the… watermelons? After a string of six straight days with no new confirmed coronavirus cases, a group of farmers in Changhua, in central […]
Taiwan has once again upgraded its so-called Name-Based Mask Distribution System.
As a Taiwanese, even one who has lived abroad for years, her instinct is to distrust the Chinese regime. Others chose to ignore all the warnings.
NEW TAIPEI CITY — The Catholic priest, Father Giovanni Rizzi of the Camillians religious order, has been well known in Taiwan for his decades of work helping to set up hospitals on the island nation. But in recent days, Rizzi humbly asked for some help in return: for contributions to purchase face masks for hospitals […]
-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 […]
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Jan. 2 speech addressing “reunification” with Taiwan has done what no political leader on the island nation has managed recently: set off a wave of unity among the Taiwanese people. Xi had apparently seen an opportunity to exploit November’s huge setbacks for the pro-independence governing party in Taiwan’s local elections. The […]
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 […]
Chairs have been removed from the cafeteria in a high school in Henan Province. The reason: save more time for studying…
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.
Tsai Ing-wen made history when she became Taiwan’s first female head of state. A year later, she is facing the harsh realities of the job. And that starts with dealing with hardliners in Beijing.
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 […]
After Donald Trump’s surprise victory last month, the first serious question — both in the U.S. and around the globe — was: Will he actually do all that stuff? The answer appears to be tilting toward a, Well, Hell Yes, that is as surprising to some as the election itself. The most blatant example so […]
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 […]
Dongfang Zaobao (Oriental Morning Post) — July 7, 2016 This Thursday edition of Shanghai-based Dongfang Zaobao features emergency forces at work in the Yangtze River basin, with the headline “Flood emergency! President Xi deploys Disaster Relief Forces.” At least 120 people are dead or missing, and an estimated 16 million people have been affected by […]
SPOTLIGHT: PRIVATE LIVES, PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS A little Internet brush fire is spreading in China after a Beijing state-run newspaper published a long article saying that Taiwan’s new president Tsai Ing-wen is unfit for office because she is neither married nor a mother. Here’s a sample: “As a single female politician, she does not have the […]