The outbreak of the Wuhuan coronavirus, also linked to a market where wildlife was sold for food, once again highlights the lack of regulation of wildlife trade. Considering the huge costs to health and the economy, it’s time to ban the trade permanently.
The tired approach of the ‘1992 consensus’ no longer resonates with voters. The young Taiwanese who gave Tsai Ing-wen a resounding electoral victory have grown wary of communist China. Can the KMT answer their needs?
While supporters point to Chinese misinformation campaigns to justify the law and point to its narrow scope, the way it was rushed through and the chilling effect it will have on freedom of speech and cross-strait exchanges are cause for concern.
The ‘phase one’ trade deal does not address contentious topics such as state subsidies and support for industrial initiatives. While more is expected of a ‘phase two’ deal, Trump is unlikely to embark on trickier trade negotiations in an election year.
Beijing’s shocked silence at Hong Kong’s election results suggests that it had succumbed to an echo chamber of its own making and completely misread the situation. The question is: is Beijing asking itself how it got it so wrong?
No matter what the China bashers say, the US will continue to engage with China’s deep pockets. The best way to compete is with sportsmanship: there can be honour even in the most intense rivalry.
Hong Kong’s reputation has taken a knock, as has China’s in the West. To counter this, the government should go beyond cosmetic solutions to address people’s aspirations and the real causes of their angst.
Hong Kong’s protests have changed the fortunes of Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP, putting their opponents in an awkward position. But even Tsai must walk a line between gaining politically from the protests and incurring Beijing’s full wrath.
A buying frenzy over pork in Shanghai might be a sign of economic trouble or an after-effect of the swine flu epidemic. Either way, it raises questions about the Chinese people’s capacity for withstanding the fallout from the US trade war.
Entertainers such as Liu Yifei and Jackie Chan have sparked backlashes outside China after taking positions on the Hong Kong protests. While such displays play well to Chinese nationalists, they might actually hurt China’s image overseas.
Beijing’s ban on solo travel visas to Taiwan is aimed at hurting the island’s economy and in turn damaging pro-democracy President Tsai Ing-wen’s bid for re-election. Taiwanese voters are being pushed to decide which is more important: politics or economics.
Han Kuo-yu came from nowhere to win last year’s mayoral elections. Now, with 1.2 million ‘Han fans’ and rallies across Taiwan, ‘Bald Guy’ has his sights on the presidency after winning the KMT ticket.
In her comments on US accusations of Chinese intellectual property infringements and the state sector, the CGTN anchor echoed the more defensive stance China has been taking on these issues.
In the current climate of paranoia, it isn’t enough for US higher education institutions to verbally support academic freedom. They should take charge and spell out what constitutes conflict of interest.
The tech giant should plant the seeds of research collaboration with Chinese institutions, even if they are less renowned than their counterparts in the West, and take the opportunity to improve the transparency of its guidelines.
It’s not just titillation – the graphic Netflix series’ convenient format, references to China and sci-fi themes appeal to a society remade by technological advancement.
Based on my own experience, I know there is a strong demand for a Trump connection from Chinese businessmen and individuals. What they are after is not influence over US politics, but a chance to impress people back home.
The case highlights Chinese people’s obsession with higher degrees, preferably with a foreign pedigree, but also shakes confidence in local institutions, which emphasise rapid research output and are plagued by plagiarism and writing of low quality.