Covid-19

Academics Zhou Wenxing and Wang Weinan observe the hard truth that Taiwan is often used as a strategic card to be played in the US’s relationship with China. While Biden seems to be the safer pair of hands on Taiwan policy, if Trump gets re-elected, Taiwan may be entering a game of high risk but high returns. Either way, Taiwan will have to watch for which way the political vane turns, as the winds moving them are rarely in their control.

Food delivered to the door every day, temperature taking twice a day, and not a single sound from the outside world... Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing documents 14 days in a hotel room, quarantined behind a yellow line. Did she find peace in solitude?

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, commentators posited that democracies saw lower mortality rates during epidemics than non-democracies. Months later, escalating death rates in countries such as the US have called such a thesis into question. Political scientist Zheng Yongnian says it is not so much whether you are a democratic country or not, but what kind of system and values you espouse. The US and Germany, for instance, both democracies, have fared very differently. He takes a closer look at the issues.

From working to keep supply chains open to establishing “fast lanes” for essential travel, China and Singapore have been working together to face the tough challenges of the pandemic. Beyond pomp and pageantry, these actions are a sign of the strong ties that the two countries have forged over the last 30 years and more. In a recent interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Chinese ambassador to Singapore Hong Xiaoyong said Singapore and China have been working together this year, showing the strength of bilateral relations. And when the coronavirus is over, Singapore and China will be able to cooperate in more areas. With ASEAN becoming China’s top trading partner for the first time ever in the first half of the year, there is even greater scope for China-ASEAN cooperation.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between China and Singapore. In a recent interview with Lianhe Zaobao, Singapore’s Ambassador to China Lui Tuck Yew takes stock of the relationship, speaks of the challenges and opportunities brought about by Covid-19, and looks ahead to greater heights that the two countries can scale together through greater collaboration and cooperation.

Chinese academic Qiao Xinsheng notes that despite its image of being democratic, the US is driven by capitalism and an individualism enjoyed only by a small number of elites. Such pre-existing conditions lead to a fragmented society made worse by the actions of President Donald Trump.

The ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) won a strong mandate in recent elections where it secured 62 seats out of 76. While it has done well to manage the Covid-19 crisis in Mongolia, its foreign policy room for manoeuvre remains limited due to the need to juggle demands from its closest neighbours, China and Russia. How will it keep the balls in the air with the US thrown into the mix?

Anticipating a long-drawn-out fight against Covid-19, Prof Goh Chye Tee says it is now more important than ever, to strengthen one’s immune system. In the language of traditional Chinese medicine,  that means getting “vital qi” or the body’s means to fight diseases, to surpass “evil qi” or pathogenic elements.  

China has been wanting the world to acknowledge its contribution to international pandemic aid, to recognise its “one China” policy, and its growing influence based on goodwill and generosity. However, observes Chinese academic Sun Peisong, China’s international publicity efforts have often ended up coming across as immature or even petulant. He feels a deep mindset change is needed if China wishes to be understood and accepted by its peers in the world.