Miao Zong-Han

Miao Zong-Han

Journalist, Lianhe Zaobao

Miao Zong-Han joined Lianhe Zaobao's China Desk in 2022 and is based in Taiwan. Prior to joining Lianhe Zaobao, he worked as a journalist at a mainstream Taiwanese media for over six years during which he was stationed in Beijing for some time covering Chinese politics, economics, society, and cross-strait relations.

Armed vehicles and Taiwan military soldiers attend the annual Han Kuang anti-landing drill at Bali beach, New Taipei City, Taiwan, on 27 July 2023. (Sam Yeh/AFP)

Declaration of ‘Taiwan independence’ could start a war in the Taiwan Strait

During a recent geopolitics conference in Taipei, experts weighed in on the Taiwan Strait situation, assessing that political factors are more likely than military factors to trigger a war. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han tells us more about what the experts said.
A worker welding metal at a factory in Hangzhou in China's eastern Zhejiang province, on 15 July 2023. (AFP)

Big Read: Taiwanese businesses' declining interest in mainland China

After the Covid-19 pandemic, the Chinese economy faces arduous challenges and the Chinese government is trying its best to attract foreign businesses and investors. While Taiwanese business owners are obvious targets, China is only looking to attract Taiwanese companies of strategic value, specifically those in info-communications and machinery manufacturing. At the same time, Taiwanese business owners have become more guarded about investing in the mainland due to growing internal and external uncertainties. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han speaks with industry experts to find out more.
Former Olympic gold medalist Ding Ning in action with a student from National Chengchi University in Taiwan, on 17 July 2023. (CNS)

The cautious restarting of cross-strait academic exchanges

Cultural and academic exchanges between Taiwan and mainland China have restarted since being suspended due to the three-year-long pandemic. While official coordination of these exchanges are proving to be difficult to resume, it remains a priority, in particular for the mainland side. On the Taiwan side, wary of interference ahead of the Taiwan election, relevant authorities are tightening the scrutiny of mainlanders visiting Taiwan. Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han tells us more.
This handout picture taken and released by the office of former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on 28 March 2023 shows former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (centre) holding a written calligraphy reading "Peaceful struggle and revitalisation of Zhonghua" during his visit to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum in Nanjing, in China's eastern Jiangsu province. (Handout/Ma Ying-jeou's office/AFP)

All the subtleties: Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou's words and actions in China

Former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s trip to mainland China began with a visit to Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Mausoleum, where Ma paid tribute to Sun in a wreath-laying ceremony and a speech, in which he mentioned Minguo (the short form of the Republic of China) four times, and called for peace efforts on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan's armed forces hold two days of routine drills to show combat readiness ahead of Lunar New Year holidays at a military base in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 11 January 2023. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

What could stir up trouble in the Taiwan Strait in 2023?

Lianhe Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han notes that tensions in the Taiwan Strait last year reached an all-time high amid the visit by then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the subsequent military exercise around Taiwan by the People’s Liberation Army. In the upcoming year, mainland China’s policies towards Taiwan, the US factor, along with the campaign for Taiwan’s presidential elections are key variables that could affect cross-strait relations and are worth keeping tabs on.
Pedestrians in the Lujiazui financial district in Shanghai, China, on 20 December 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Tug of war: Taiwanese businesses in China tussle with decoupling and integration

While investments by Taiwanese enterprises in mainland China have declined due to geopolitical factors and Covid-19, many still have one foot in the massive domestic market. As a result, a number of Taiwanese enterprises have turned into “new mainland enterprises” as they integrate into the mainland’s domestic market. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han looks into where Taiwanese enterprises are moving towards.
People walk by a building decorated with an election campaign poster in Taipei, Taiwan, 14 November 2022. (Ann Wang/Reuters)

Taiwan’s local elections: Voter fatigue over thesis plagiarism tussle

Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han takes a closer look at voter fatigue in Taiwan in the upcoming “nine-in-one” elections, caused mostly by the arguing over plagiarism allegations, which might interest the highly educated but bore the average voter. Another question is whether the atmosphere at these elections will be a good indicator of things to come in the 2024 general election.
US President Joe Biden meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, 14 November 2022. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Xi-Biden meeting: Nobody wants war over Taiwan Strait

The long-awaited face-to-face meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally took place this week on the sidelines of the G20 summit. While both sides expectedly reiterated their stance on key issues such as climate change, North Korea and the Russia-Ukraine war, the Taiwan issue continues to be the highlight, with Xi marking it as the “first red line’’ that must not be crossed. Zaobao journalists Miao Zong-Han and Daryl Lim tell us more.
Xi Jinping, China's president, delivers a speech during the presentation of the new Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on 23 October 2022. President Xi Jinping stacked China’s most powerful body with his allies, giving him unfettered control over the world’s second-largest economy. (Bloomberg)

Xi's model of Chinese modernisation shaking up China and the world

Following the end of the 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it is anticipated that the CCP will further consolidate its power and adopt a tougher stance in dealing with both internal and external challenges in its bid to rejuvenate the Chinese nation through Chinese modernisation. Zaobao journalist Miao Zong-Han speaks to China experts and Taiwan-based analysts to find out more.