Showing posts with label #NewBloomMagazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #NewBloomMagazine. Show all posts

Taiwan Inauguration Preview - Interview with Brian Hioe

May 20th, 2024 marks the inauguration of the 16th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China, Taiwan.

In the January election, Lai Ching-te (賴清德), also known as William Lai, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and his vice-presidential running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) won the popular vote. Their appointment to the presidential office means a third consecutive term for the DPP as Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taiwan's first female president, concludes her two terms in office.

This is a delicate time for Taiwan-China relations as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping has explicitly made taking Taiwan by force if necessary, part of his plans to "rejuvenate" China. However, the Taiwanese people are less interested than ever in unifying with the mainland.

In this episode, I'm delighted to welcome Brian Hioe (丘琦欣) back to the podcast. Brian (@brianhioe) is one of the founding editors of New Bloom Magazine and a non-resident Fellow at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies program. I caught up with him in Taipei to talk about the upcoming inauguration, China's increasing gray zone tactics and over-reach, the role of the China-friendly KMT party in the new administration and much more.

Date of Recording: May 15th, 2024.




President elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President elect Hsiao Bi-khim hold hands in victory to the backdrop of the presidential office in Taipei
Taiwan Inauguration Preview



DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • New Bloom Magazine (link)

The China US Blame Game

 In recent months, we've become accustomed to Russia and its supporters blaming their invasion of Ukraine on NATO expansion and US interference in the region, even though Western nations and Ukraine have repeatedly rejected this narrative.

Similarly, in the case of Taiwan, the Chinese Communist Party and their supporters blame the United States as the sole agent for escalation of tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

In a recent article by Michael Swaine of the Quincy Institute entitled "The Worrisome Erosion of the One China Policy" published in the National Interest, he frames present tensions as arising over the US refusing to conform to its own One China Policy and instead increasing symbolic and substantive support for Taiwan, thereby provoking China into taking greater escalatory actions.

Swaine's article was taken to task by Brian Hioe (@brianhioe) in New Bloom Magazine in a response entitled "Nevermind China's drills, Quincy Institute Article view America as sole agent of rising tensions".

Brian Hioe is one of the founding editors of New Bloom Magazine and a non-resident Fellow at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Program. He joins me in this episode of Perspectives with Neilo to discuss his response to Swaine's article, the practicalities of the US One China Policy, opinions of the US in Taiwan, why the CCP prefers a military response to diplomatic outreach with the current Taiwan administration and much more.

Date of Recording: April 26th, 2023.




DIVE DEEPER

Check out the following resources for additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)