Taiwan

The US is reportedly considering a request from Taiwan to change the name of its mission in Washington from “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office” to “Taiwan Representative Office”. What are the implications, and is it likely to happen? Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun examines the situation.

The US has said that withdrawing from Afghanistan will give it more bandwidth to deal with Russia and its “serious competitor” China. The latter in particular, has become a key target. Chinese academic Wang Zhengxu asserts that the US should learn from its Afghanistan experience that the military option should only be used in self-defence. If it gets involved in China’s core concerns and insists on building an anti-China alliance, China will bristle and regional instability can only increase.

Some Japanese politicians have the practice of marking the anniversary of the end of WWII for Japan by visiting the Yasukuni Shrine to pay tribute to the war dead. Even after more than 75 years, emotions run deep especially in China, which has registered its unhappiness at these visits. Japanese academic Shin Kawashima examines how Yasukuni Shrine visits can be used to gauge the state of Japan-China relations.

US academic Zhu Zhiqun says that the future should not be decided solely by self-interested politicians in Washington or Beijing. Instead, real problems that affect or endanger ordinary people's lives should be of the highest priority. A failure to cooperate can lead to confrontation between the two most consequential nations of today and bring harm to the world.

Cloistered in Chishang township in Taiwan’s Huadong Valley for the past four months, Chiang Hsun has no choice but to face himself in all its foibles. At peace with himself, he is at peace with the world. He revels in beautiful sights, as if he’s the only one let in on nature’s little secret. Just as he readies to leave, tourists trickle back into Chishang, bringing a bit of a bustle with them. May their hearts be still, says Chiang, to see the beauty that lies before them.

While Beijing has objected strongly to the Lithuanian government's move of allowing Taiwan to open a representative office under the name “Taiwan” rather than “Taipei”, Taiwan has lashed out at “autocratic” Beijing, saying that its ties with Lithuania are based on the shared values of freedom, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. Japanese academic Shin Kawashima examines the names of Taiwan's overseas offices and of various countries' offices in Taiwan, analysing the subtleties behind the different naming conventions.

Findings of a 2019 survey covering nine major Chinese cities show that mainland Chinese supporting armed unification with Taiwan tend to be male, highly educated urbanites who are often Communist Party members. While this group makes up just about 50% of the respondents and includes those who see armed unification as a last resort as well as those who think it should be an immediate recourse, Qi Dongtao cautions that the rise of radical nationalism should not be ignored.

The Biden administration does not seem to have changed course from the US’s former hardline approach towards China. In fact, it is resolute in adopting a competitive stance. Even so, its tactics may not be enough to keep China from moving ahead.

The People’s Liberation Army launched two new missiles over the weekend while conducting joint live-fire assault drills in multiple locations near Taiwan. Analysts say that these may be flashes of their trump card to ward off the US and other opponents against conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan has the details.