The Nationalist Party (KMT) caused surprise last week by proposing two resolutions regarding diplomatic ties with the United States that passed unanimously in the Legislative Yuan, a rare show of bipartisanship in Taiwanese politics.
Chinese military activities around Taiwan have visibly escalated in past weeks. Apart from military exercises conducted in the area, a visit to Taiwan by US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Keith Krach saw consecutive days of warplanes sent into Taiwanese airspace.
A political spat between high-ranking Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians broke out last month after comments by former President Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT regarding Taiwan’s national defense.
The Tsai Ing-wen administration surprised last week with the announcement that it intended to open Taiwan up to beef and pork imports from the United States. This move is clearly aimed at removing one of the major political hurdles to a bilateral trade agreement with Washington, which had made this a precondition for a bilateral trade agreement with Taiwan for well over a decade.
Japan has become a formidable pillar in Zambia’s development, and its influence is felt in the fields of business investment, training, and technology. Some have argued, however, that the criteria for accepting trainees and awarding grants needs further clarification.
It took few by surprise that Chen Chi-mai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was the winner of the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election.
An ongoing corruption probe into a group of pan-Green and pan-Blue politicians accused of taking bribes in a case related to the ownership of the Pacific Sogo department store chain has the potential to be a major scandal faced by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and for the Tsai Ing-wen administration.
New Bloom (Taipei) — Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayoral by-election candidate, Jane Lee, also known as Li Mei-jhen, has come under public scrutiny after accusations that she plagiarized her master’s thesis. Lee’s master’s degree was from National Sun Yat-sen University and she currently serves as
Changhua is a county of contradictions. It’s Taiwan’s largest by population but doesn’t have a single department store. It’s full of farms and conservative values, and will also be home to Taiwan’s only legal red-light district if local councilors get their way.
On June 15, Defense Minister Taro Kono announced a suspension of the deployment of the Aegis Ashore missile interception system—a suspension that ten days later became a cancellation. The progression from deciding to deploy Aegis Ashore, to cancelling it, to considering alternatives, reveals policy formation fraught with dysfunction.
