Chen Kuohsiang

Chen Kuohsiang

Commentator

Chen Kuohsiang is a veteran media personality in Taiwan. He is the former chairman of Taiwan's Central News Agency and was previously editor-in-chief of Independence Evening Post and China Times, and head of China Times Express. He has written for China Times and Yazhou Zhoukan. He is a former member of the Central Election Commission and was a member of the committee in charge of Hakka affairs for Taipei city.

Paramilitary police officers stand guard south of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 5 March 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP)

China wielding long-arm jurisdiction of its own

Taiwanese commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that China seems to be using long-arm jurisdiction to curtail overseas critics, activists and publishers. This has far-reaching consequences, not least in officially annexing Taiwan through legal precedent.
Terry Gou (centre) left the Kuomintang in anger, but now wants to make a comeback. (SPH Media)

Do businessmen make good political leaders?

With Foxconn founder Terry Gou declaring interest in running for Taiwan president again, commentator Chen Kuohsiang cites examples to show why having a businessman as a political leader may not be a good idea, given the different qualities required for each role.
This photo taken on 3 January 2023 shows a crane loading a container at Nanjing port in China's eastern Jiangsu province. (AFP)

Future world: A rising Asia and a polarised global economy

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that the US’s efforts to counter China is the main driving force behind the redrawing of the global economic map. However, as the US is the sole beneficiary while most of the other countries have supported the US’s cause to their own detriment, conflicts of interests will gradually emerge. In the end, the global economy may polarise into various camps with disjointed supply chains.
A deserted road in the central business district in Beijing, China, on 29 November 2022. (Bloomberg)

China is facing a harsh economic winter

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that even after the 20th Party Congress and talks between Chinese and US Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden during the G20 summit, the Chinese economy is not facing an easy time, not least because of Covid-19 controls, the US's trade restrictions and China's stringent policy on private enterprises.
Chen Shih-chung, Taipei's mayoral candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), holds up a cheque in front of an image of him along with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen during an election campaign rally in Taipei on 5 November 2022. (Sam Yeh/AFP)

DPP’s anti-China card has failed to work in Taiwan's local elections

Commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s heavy losses in Taiwan’s recent “nine-in-one” local elections show that the people are no longer buying its line of resisting China and protecting Taiwan, as they feel that the DPP has gone too far and attracted trouble with its aggressive stance.
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves as he walks with members of the Chinese Communist Party's new Politburo Standing Committee, the nation's top decision-making body, to meet the media in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 23 October 2022. (Noel Celis/AFP)

With Xi-ism, is extreme power quietly taking shape in China?

The 20th Party Congress has closed and the CCP leadership has been set. Chinese President Xi Jinping has further consolidated his authority after removing rival factions and promoting those loyal to him. Furthermore, Xi will reign over party ideology with “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” and the “Two Establishes”. Nonetheless, Taiwanese commentator Chen Kuohsiang notes that the system cannot thrive without different views or a self-correcting mechanism.
This file photo taken on 6 January 2022 shows Taiwanese soldiers taking part in a drill at an army base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. (Sam Yeh/AFP)

Taiwanese commentator: Lee Kuan Yew saw reunification as inevitable

Years ago, Singapore’s late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew said that cross-strait reunification was a matter of time and that its fate was sealed a long time ago. Taiwanese commentator Chen Kuohsiang finds such an assessment insightful, concluding that Taiwan would do well to avoid leaning too much towards the US and becoming too reliant on it for security.
Taiwanese soldiers operate a CM-11 tank simulating firing during a military drill at an undisclosed location in Taiwan, 8 August 2022 in this handout picture released on 10 August 2022. (Taiwan Military News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Taiwan Strait war will destroy peace and trade in the Asia-Pacific region

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have intensified after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s military exercises encircling Taiwan. Taiwanese commentator Chen Kuohsiang assesses that a war in the Taiwan Strait would have implications for the Asia-Pacific region that go beyond geopolitics.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leaves the parliament in Taipei, Taiwan, 3 August 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Taiwan likely to become biggest loser with Pelosi's visit

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is enroute to Taiwan for a visit that has kept the Biden administration and both sides of the Taiwan Strait on tenterhooks in past weeks. Whatever happens next, the people of Taiwan may be on the losing end. Taiwanese commentator Chen Kuohsiang explains the implications.