Voters in Hong Kong and Taiwan went to the polls over the weekend, but the circumstances couldn’t be more different. Beijing released a white paper that talked glowingly about “universal suffrage” as the goal in Hong Kong, but included caveats that make clear it does not see the natural progression of democracy in the city as being anything like Taiwan’s experience.
Taiwanese voters are heading to the polls on December 18 to vote on four measures, mostly dealing with economic issues such as pork imports and the construction of a natural gas terminal. But with Taiwan’s two major political parties being intensely polarized around the referendum, much more could be at stake, depending on the results.
The South Pacific nation of fewer than 700,000 people remains divided over a 2019 decision to switch diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. That is likely one of many factors in recent violent protests, but Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare insisted it is “the only issue” and that the violence had been “encouraged by other powers” that don’t like China.
Taiwanese conglomerate Far Eastern Group (FEG) was recently fined in mainland China for problems such as “fire safety,” but the real problem appears to be politics: FEG is linked to officials in Taiwan that Beijing considers to be “‘Taiwan independence’ stubborn elements,” whose “affiliates and financial backers must be punished.”
Joe Biden and Xi Jinping’s virtual meeting yesterday evening appears to have been relatively friendly and promises more stability for the U.S.-China relationship. There were no breakthroughs, but Chinese media reported that an agreement had been reached to issue journalist visas, starting with the U.S. side.
Taiwan has been beefing up its international education campaign, but experts say it will be difficult to compete with China.
After a month of increasing tensions, a proposal to amend Taiwan’s constitution may further strain the cross-strait relationship.
Alibaba’s Yitian 710 chip shows how the U.S.-China-Taiwan semiconductor dance hides an increasingly unstable equilibrium.
Beijing is very unhappy with statements in the last two days from Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen and from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about the future of the island nation that China sees as a breakaway province.
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