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- Taiwan Backs Australian Wine Campaign in Stand Against China (2020-12-02)
(CNA, By Yeh Su-ping and Joseph Yeh) Taiwanese diplomats and officials are taking part in a global campaign to purchase Australian wines as the country stands against intense pressure from China, which has imposed heavy taxes on Australian wine as Sino-Australia tension has intensified. - Congressional Panel Proposes Upgrading US Envoy to Taiwan to Ambassador Level (2020-12-02)
(Taiwan News, By Keoni Everington) A U.S. congressional panel on Tuesday (Dec. 1) called for the status of the director of the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan to be upgraded to a level on par with an ambassador. - DPP to Hold National Security Seminars in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung (2020-11-30)
(Taipei Times) The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has planned a series of seminars for next month in four special municipalities on bolstering Taiwan’s national security, a party official said yesterday. - Taiwan Denies Military Plane Flew too Close to PLA Aircraft (2020-11-30)
(CNA, By Matt Yu, Justin Su and Emerson Lim) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Monday denied a news report that a Taiwanese interceptor had flown dangerously close to a Chinese military plane during a recent monitoring mission. - Chinese Media’s Threats to Draw Taipei Rebuff: Source (2020-11-29)
(Taipei Times, By Lee Hsin-fang and William Hetherington) The government is implementing measures to respond to state-owned Chinese media’s threats against Taiwanese independence advocates, a national security official said on Friday. - U.S. to Work with Taiwan to Deal with Four Pressing Challenges: AIT (2020-11-28)
(CNA, By Emerson Lim and Chen Yun-yu) The United States will work with Taiwan to deal with "pressing challenges" in the post-COVID-19 era, focusing on health, prosperity, security and democracy, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said on Saturday. - EP Supports Taiwan on WHO Participation, Trade Pact Negotiations (2020-11-27)
(CNA, By Tang Pei-chun and Emerson Lim) The European Parliament (EP) recently passed two resolutions that support Taiwan's bid to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO) and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with the European Union (EU). - China to Charge 12 from Hong Kong Caught Fleeing by Boat (2020-11-27)
(Reuters) Chinese authorities said on Friday they were set to charge 12 people from Hong Kong with border violations after they were detained in China more than three months ago while trying to flee from the city by speedboat. - Visit Called Off, But Environmental Ties with U.S. to Continue: Envoy (2020-11-25)
(CNA, By Chaing Chin-yeh, Chen Yun-yu, and Frances Huang) Taiwan and the United States will continue their cooperation on environmental initiatives despite the canceled visit of a top American environmental official, Taiwan's representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said Tuesday. - Japan, China Agree on Economic Ties, Split Over Islands (2020-11-25)
(Associated Press, By Mari Yamaguchi) China’s top diplomat told Japan’s leader on Wednesday that Beijing wants the two Asian powers to have good relations and cooperate in fighting the coronavirus and reviving their pandemic-hit economies, but the two sides remained at odds over an island dispute. - Beijing Confirms Jail Sentence for Taiwanese Professor (2020-11-25)
(CNA, By Lawrence Chiu and Chiang Yi-ching) A retired university professor who was arrested shortly after visiting China in August 2018 has been sentenced to four years in prison on national security charges, China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) said Wednesday. - Hong Kong's Lam Says Restoring 'Political System from Chaos' Is Priority (2020-11-24)
(Reuters, By Twinnie Siu and Clare Jim) Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the government will introduce a bill to “enhance oath-taking” by civil servants and conduct widespread public education “to enhance the understanding of the rule of law”. The government will launch programmes to educate Hong Kong’s youth, who were at the frontlines of last year’s demonstrations, about respecting China’s national flag and its anthem. - US Provides Missiles, Renews Pledge to Defend Philippines (2020-11-23)
(Associated Press, By Jim Gomez) U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration provided precision-guided missiles and other weapons to help the Philippines battle Islamic State group-aligned militants and renewed a pledge to defend its treaty ally if it comes under attack in the disputed South China Sea.
- Hong Kong Activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, Ivan Lam Jailed (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Zen Soo) The jailing of the activists belonging to the now-defunct Demosisto political group continues to highlight Beijing’s iron grip on the autonomous territory. - 3 of Hong Kong’s Most Prominent Young Activists Receive Jail Sentences (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Jessie Lau) The sentencings of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam confirmed the fears of young Hong Kongers amid a growing number of arrests. - Is Hong Kong Heading Toward a Russian-Style Electoral System? (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Simon Shen) Beijing may explore allowing a limited, managed style of democracy – one that ensures a toothless opposition, in the style of Putin’s Russia. - Has Taiwan Always Been Part of China? (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Gerrit van der Wees) The historical relationship is more complicated than Beijing would like to admit. - With RCEP Complete, China Eyes CPTPP (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Hemant Adlakha) Is President Xi Jinping’s statement desire to join the CPTPP a signal of reconciliation to the new Biden administration or a bid to advance China’s regional dominance? - China Continues Its COVID-19 Diplomacy in the Pacific (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Shannon Tiezzi) China held a second “special meeting on COVID-19” with Pacific Island countries. - After a Humbling Election Experience, Will the US Change Its Tune on China? (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Jin Kai) The 2020 U.S. election undermines Washington’s bid to act as a beacon for the world. - US Targets China’s Quest for ‘Military-Civil Fusion’ (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Bonnie Girard) A report indicates the U.S. government will seek to deny sales to 89 major Chinese companies with military links. - Australia Livid as Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tweets Offensive Image (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Abhijnan Rej) Zhao Lijian’s tweet is likely to seriously aggravate tensions between the two countries. - Taiwan Starts Production of First Domestically Made Submarines (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Nick Aspinwall) President Tsai Ing-wen called the submarine production crucial to Taiwan’s development of asymmetric warfare capabilities. - China’s Xi Finally Congratulates US President-Elect Biden (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Shannon Tiezzi) Xi’s call came shortly after the official transition process began. - Trump, Biden, and the Obstacles to ASEAN Neutrality (2020-12-03)
(The Diplomat, By Laura Southgate) In an era of growing superpower competition, ASEAN will face stiff challenges to its autonomy and neutrality. - Cutting Through the Hype on Asia’s New Trade Deal (2020-12-03)
(Foreign Policy, By Salvatore Babones) The RCEP truly is a China-style trade agreement: platitudinous and ineffective. - Beijing Takes Its South China Sea Strategy to the Himalayas (2020-11-27)
(New York Times, By Steven Lee Myers) China built a village in territory also claimed by the kingdom of Bhutan, echoing its aggressive tactics at the border with India and in places much farther away. - After Trump, Biden Faces Pressure to Stand Up to China by Embracing Taiwan (2020-11-24)
(New York Times, By Javier C. Hernández and Amy Chang Chien) In his final days in office, President Trump is trying to undermine Beijing by showing support for Taiwan. President-elect Biden will likely follow a similar path — without the pugnacity. - China Says It Remains Open to the World, but Wants to Dictate Terms (2020-11-23)
(New York Times, By Steven Lee Myers and Keith Bradsher) It’s globalization with Communist characteristics: The Chinese government promotes the country’s openness to the world, even as it adopts increasingly aggressive and at times punitive policies that force countries to play by its rules. - What Does China Think U.S.-China Relations Should Look Like? (2020-11-24)
(New York Times, By Kathleen Kingsbury) Today, we are publishing an Op-Ed by Fu Ying, a government official in China, which gives insight — in both what it says and what it doesn’t — into the thinking in Beijing in 2020. So far, this Op-Ed is the only official statement, beyond the usual platitudes, that has come from the government about the election of Joe Biden to the presidency, and for that reason we thought it was worth publishing. - Cooperative Competition Is Possible Between China and the U.S. (2020-11-24)
(New York Times, By Fu Ying) Both governments have heavy domestic agendas to attend to, and so even if competition between China and the United States is unavoidable, it needs to be managed well, cooperatively. It is possible for the two countries to develop a relationship of “coopetition” (cooperation + competition) by addressing each other’s concerns. - Competition Without Catastrophe (2019-09-01)
(Foreign Affairs, By Kurt M. Campbell and Jake Sullivan) On Taiwan, a tacit commitment not to unilaterally alter the status quo is perhaps the best that can be hoped for given the historical complexities involved. Yet Taiwan is not only a potential flash point; it is also the greatest unclaimed success in the history of U.S.-Chinese relations.
- More Than 70% Against US Pork Imports: Survey (2020-11-27)
(Taipei Times, By Sherry Hsiao) More than 70 percent of the public disagrees that Taiwan should allow imports of US pork containing ractopamine residue, even though this might entail further US support, a survey released yesterday by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)- affiliated National Policy Foundation found.
