All eyes are on Johnny Chiang, the 48-year-old who was elected the new chairman of Taiwan's Kuomintang. Chiang won all the elections he stood for in 2012, 2016, and 2020, and was the KMT Legislative Yuan member with the most votes in the 2020 general election. Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun says Chiang is, without a doubt, the most suitable candidate to be KMT chairman right now. But what are the challenges faced by the ailing party under new leadership, and the implications these may have on cross-strait relations?
Politics
Politics
Amid adjustments as China and the US size each other up anew and recalibrate their relationship, the international community needs to be prepared for the uncertainties an increasingly insecure America and a more confident China may bring to the world. Professor Zhu Zhiqun of Bucknell University in the US opines that it is entirely possible for America’s declining confidence vis-à-vis China to be based on its exaggerated assessment of China’s influence, while China’s growing confidence is built upon an inflation of China’s real power.
Politics
Not even the shared threat of Wuhan coronavirus can bring Taiwan and mainland China closer together. Zhu Zhiqun says recent developments do not bode well for cross-strait relations in the years ahead.
Politics
Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun assesses that the East Asian security outlook for 2020 is not very promising, given that overall security in the region has deteriorated on several fronts over the past year. He gives his take on key hotspots in the region — the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and the Taiwan Strait — and sums up major powers’ priorities in the region.
Politics
China and Israel share a special relationship that goes back in history and is grounded in modern economic and social needs, but the US has both explicit and implicit concerns about growing China-Israel relations. Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun illuminates how Israel walks the tightrope of advancing relations with both China and the US amidst intense rivalry between the two major powers.
Politics
Roughly 17,000 people travel between China and the US daily, with a flight taking off or landing every 17 minutes. Political scientist Zhu Zhiqun opines that while relationship between the two giants will continue to experience its ups and downs, the two countries are joined at the hip. He looks into history for a better understanding of the China-US relationship.
Society
At present, there are about 12,000 American students studying at Chinese universities, while the number of Chinese students studying in the US is 30 times as many. Prof Zhu Zhiqun who teaches in an American University says this will impact China-US relations in the long run.
Politics
While the majority of Mainland Chinese believe that China is a prosperous, harmonious, confident, stable, and responsible power, many outsiders do not. What has China done to boost its soft power and international image? Have these efforts been effective?