Political commentator William He observes that the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was a statesman who influenced US foreign policy and a key player in making “the Indo-Pacific strategy” and “the Quad” the lexicon of recent times. He was also an active defender of stability in the Taiwan Strait. All said, he might have been a controversial figure, but the legacy he leaves behind is a tangible record that history can be the judge of.
Politics
Politics
At his first Legislative Council meeting on 6 July, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee laid out his work plan and likened Hong Kong to a “gentleman” that has to respond robustly to attacks from “nasty people” bent on smearing the city. Zaobao’s associate editor Han Yong Hong examines how he plans to tell the Hong Kong story well.
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East Asian Institute senior research fellow Lance Gore argues that two contexts made Xi’s resurrection of ideological orthodoxy almost inevitable — Leninist party rule and China’s rise on the global stage. But Xi’s return to ideology may be to China’s detriment, as it could reverse achievements of the reform and opening up era, and also set China on a collision course with Western liberal democracies.
Politics
With the upper house elections in Japan fast approaching, the various political parties are putting forward their platforms on key issues such as price hikes, foreign and security policy, and constitutional reform. Japanese academic Shin Kawashima examines the factors that will make a difference in how the votes will go, and whether the Kishida administration will manage to secure victory.
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A recent visit by KMT chairman Eric Chu to the US has drawn reactions from both the Green and Blue camps in Taiwan, who question his motivations and the credibility of Chu and the KMT. Academic Albert Tzeng looks at how the KMT’s stance has changed and if so, why it is making a move now.
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Despite Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent speech reaffirming Hong Kong’s future as well as the “one country, two systems” policy, many are worried that Hong Kong’s unique advantages are weakening fast amid a tightening of political space. Zaobao journalist Tai Hing Shing tells us more.
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In a recent poll conducted by Malaysia’s Merdeka Center and the Institute of China Studies at the University of Malaya, public perception of China seems to have improved slightly from the last time a similar survey was done in 2016. That said, opinions are divided among ethnic groups and hinge on a few deciding factors.
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China’s third aircraft carrier is not yet nuclear-powered and won’t be battle-ready for some years yet. Besides, in terms of possible warfare, it’s the numerous surface combatants China possesses that the US should be worried about, says Loro Horta. But with every iteration of China’s aircraft carrier, its ambitions of eventually taking on the US in the open Pacific is increasingly clear.
Politics
The recent NATO summit in Madrid seems to indicate that NATO is making a comeback in full force. For China, painted as presenting “systemic challenges” to NATO, this should sound a warning that when the time is ripe for the US to contain China, key countries in the Asia-Pacific and the EU will not be on its side.