Kuomintang

Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that while former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s planned visit to several cities in mainland China is deemed an ancestral visit and to lead student exchanges, its political implications cannot be ignored. The trip could be a win for himself and both sides of the Taiwan Strait as the parties involved continue to push for cooperation and peaceful exchanges.

East Asian Institute senior research fellow Qi Dongtao analyses the significance of former Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou’s upcoming visit to mainland China. Could history repeat itself and the visit be a harbinger of a marked strengthening of ties between the mainland and the KMT, leading to a victory over the DPP in the 2024 elections?

As the sabre-rattling continues in the Taiwan Strait, there seems to be no clear solution in sight for reunification. Zaobao’s correspondent Woon Wei Jong speaks to commentators and experts to take soundings on feasible solutions.

Worsening cross-strait relations in recent times have generated anxiety about imminent conflict across the Taiwan Straits. During a three-month stint in Taiwan as the recipient of a Taiwan fellowship, RSIS academic Benjamin Ho observed that what is at stake for Taipei is not so much the threat from China per se but how domestic cleavages relating to Taiwan’s political identity complicate efforts to arrive at a modus vivendi with Beijing.

Zaobao correspondent Woon Wei Jong notes that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)'s strong stance of “Taiwan independence” has seen a shift towards a more toned down “peaceful protection of Taiwan”. With Taiwan’s Vice-President William Lai now at the helm of the DPP, he must grapple with internal and external challenges to secure the public’s votes for his party in Taiwan’s 2024 presidential race. In particular, will he be able to persuade the younger voters that his party can achieve the peaceful protection of Taiwan?

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.

While smiles at the recent Xi-Biden in-person meeting in Bali might have painted a rosy picture of US-China relations, the reality is that domestic politics, especially in the US, may stir and stoke tensions in bilateral relations in the new year.

NUS academic Lu Xi assesses that the victory of the non-Green camp in the “nine-in-one” local elections shows that the Taiwanese people are aligning their views towards the Taiwan Strait issue regardless of political parties and camps. “Resist China, protect Taiwan” is becoming a consensus, and parties will need to compete on some other parameters such as a wholesome party image and promising political stars.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party took a number of hits during the “nine-in-one” local elections and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as a result. Veteran journalist Gu Erde notes how the 2024 presidential race has started to take shape, but Taiwan’s elections in recent years show that voters’ tastes, especially those of the young voters, change quickly and drastically.