Taiwan likes to present itself as a modern, developed democracy, but step off the plane and onto any Taiwanese street, and a very different reality quickly emerges: one in which basic public safety is dangerously absent.
Cheng is visiting China at the invitation of the CPC Central Committee and Xi. She is the first KMT chair to lead a delegation to China in a decade.
As Taiwan’s opposition leader, Cheng Li-wun leads a delegation across China the fine line between opposition outreach and quasi-diplomacy is being blurred. It is an issue that should concern anyone with a stake in Taiwan’s democratic integrity.
Data from National Chengchi University shows a mere 2.5% of the population see themselves as Chinese, whereas 62% identify as Taiwanese.
Shortly after Israel detonated thousands of pagers used by members of the Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah in a deadly operation in September 2024, the Orban government offered its assistance to Iran.
Cheng asserted that her visit mirrors the precedents set by previous KMT leaders which supports the notion of a single Chinese entity while rejecting separatist movements for Taiwan.
The war in Iran has delivered a systemic shock to global energy markets, but few regions have felt the strain as acutely, or quite as quickly, as Southeast Asia.
Cheng, who leads Taiwan’s largest opposition party, is visiting a number of cities in China, as Chinese military pressure on the island reaches new heights.
Just days before Iran claimed to have hit one of the US Air Force's most formidable jets - an F-35 stealth fighter - a Chinese social media account published a detailed guide on how such an attack could be carried out.
Taiwan has received assurances over LNG supplies from a major producing country, according to the island’s economy minister, as concerns grow over the impact of the Iran war on energy imports from the Middle East.
Public discourse can appear disproportionately animated by US culture wars, US electoral cycles and US policy fashions. Foreign sports coverage on local media essentially means NBA or Major League baseball reports.
The world needs a stable Asia – East and West – and would be better served by the removal of the current Iranian regime. Only in the removal of said regime will Beijing be forced back into a more constrained, less opportunistic global role.
In a statement issued on March 30 through media channels in Taiwan, the KMT said Cheng had accepted the invitation and would lead a delegation to China.
Manila’s position is that “peace, stability, and adherence to international law are essential to safeguarding maritime routes that are vital to regional trade, including for the Philippines and Taiwan.”
From South Korea to Indonesia to Bangladesh, governments are increasingly turning back to coal-fired power generation to help offset a widening shortfall in LNG imports.
The war involving the United States, Israel and Iran has sent a delayed shockwave through global energy markets and nowhere is the impact more acute than at petrol pumps across Asia.
China is also increasing its purchases from Russia, with imports estimated at 1.2mn to 1.5mn tonnes – primarily for use as a substitute feedstock in refineries.
A leading name in the Taiwanese solar sector, TSEC has seen its valuation on the Taiwanese exchange skyrocket in recent months.
If Beijing’s supporters are right that now is the time, they are also wrong to imagine success without substantial Taiwanese and wider regional blowback.
The coast guard is also stepping up joint drills with the military, signalling a shift towards integrated defence operations. In the event of conflict, the agency would support naval missions and could equip certain vessels with missile systems.