Author: Editor

Quo vadis, KMT?

Written by Gunter Schubert. Since its electoral defeat in the presidential and legislative elections in January, the KMT has entered a period of soul-searching. For many observers, Taiwan’s largest opposition party, which governed the country almost exclusively since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949, is struggling for political survival. As well as having lost power, the KMT has been stripped of many of its assets in the name of ‘transitional justice.’ The pending investigations are an attempt by the DPP government to clarify whether those assets were illegally acquired during the authoritarian era and must, therefore, be transferred to the state.

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 A Commentary on President Tsai’s Inauguration Regarding Energy Policy

Written by Manuel Zehr. During her speech, President Tsai repeated and underlined her policy from four years ago. The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) ultimate goal was always to win over voters by shutting down nuclear power plants in Taiwan. Besides keeping this former political promise, renewable energy has the positive side effect of reducing energy imports, which is currently at 97.8%. This is important as China could cut off economic and life support lines at any time.

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Tsai Ing-Wen’s Inaugural Address for the Second Term: “Unprecedented Challenges and Unparalleled Opportunities”

Written by Qi Dongtao. As usual, Tsai Ing-wen’s inaugural speech on May 20 maintained her low-key, down-to-earth style without much surprise. From Beijing’s perspective, since she did not explicitly accept the “one-China principle” in the speech, she failed Beijing’s so-called “exam” again and therefore was severely criticised by Beijing. But since Beijing had already concluded that she would never openly accept the “one-China principle,” her speech did not surprise Beijing.

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Prospects for President Tsai Ing-wen’s Second term

Written by Gerrit van der Wees. Her overwhelming victory in the elections already gave President Tsai Ing-wen a solid mandate to push domestic reforms with greater vigor, while the country’s excellent performance in combating the Coronavirus crisis gave Taiwan an unmatched international visibility, which will help in pushing back against China’s mounting political and economic aggressiveness.

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Is Taiwan Prepared to Cope with a Post-COVID Economy?

Written by Harry West. The Coronavirus pandemic has presented the world with challenges the likes of which have rarely been seen before. COVID-19 — a disease for which a vaccine is yet to be found — has killed over 300,000 people and infected millions more. As well as the human cost, the virus has had a significant impact on the global economy, with governments across the world implementing social distancing measures as a means for combatting the spread.

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Why We Must Press for Full Accounting from China Regarding the Coronavirus

Written by Robert S. Wang. While most people agree we need to probe into the origin of the current Coronavirus pandemic, many continue to urge that we initially focus on containing the pandemic and address the broad issues of cause later on. This is also what China’s President Xi Jinping proposed in his speech, along with the offer of $2 billion in assistance, at the opening of the 73rd World Health Assembly meeting on May 18.

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Taiwan’s Economy and Future Prospects

Written by Min-Hua Chiang. Despite economic shrinkage, the impact of COVID-19 on Taiwan’s economy is restrained compared to other countries. Singapore (-2.2%), European Union (-2.7%), USA (-4.8%), China (-6.8%) and Hong Kong (-8.9%) have reported a more significant drop in the first quarter of 2020. Taiwan’s success in controlling the spread of COVID-19 has minimized the impact of COVID-19 on its economy. As of May 11 2020, Taiwan reported 440 cases and seven deaths, lower than most other countries in the world.

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The Return of Technocrats in the US-China Divide and Their Relation to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Written by Chuan-Kai Lee and Mei-Chih Hu. As we know, the Coronavirus pandemic poses a dire threat to various states around the globe. Thus, we perceive the competence (or lack thereof) of different governments, the strengthening of the state, the rise of nationalism, and in Taiwan, the return of technocrats. These technocrats differed from their predecessors in the developmental-state era, as they already had their missions well in advance rather than playing catch-up. They were to contain the virus — keep a record of zero local infection as long as possible.

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Cross-Taiwan Strait Economic Relations in Times of Uncertainty

Written by Tse-Kang Leng. Taiwan is now facing increasing pressure to adjust its cross-strait economic policies. In her second inaugural address on May 20 of this year, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen re-emphasised the importance of Taiwan’s strength in the semiconductor and ICT industries, and she also urged the country to secure a central role in global supply chains. In order to cope with current global uncertainties, more substantial state intervention to consolidate economic security will become the new normal.

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Taiwanese Sex Workers amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

Written by Mei-Hua Chen. There are nearly 9,000 people who have lost their jobs. The majority of these workers are found in the service sector. Nonetheless, after a hostess, who worked in Taipei, contracted the Coronavirus on the April 8, hostesses or sex workers who work in bars or dancing halls appear as the most vulnerable group in Taiwan. The Central Epidemic Command Centre (CCEC) of Taiwan immediately and indefinitely shut down 437 bars and dancing halls that provided hostess services across Taiwan.

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Nostalgia and Exile in the Diasporic Literature of Mainland-born Taiwanese

Written by Fang Tang. The word ‘diaspora’ derives from the Greek – dia, ‘through’, and speirein, ‘to scatter’， and was used to refer to the exile of the Jewish people from their homeland, the historic Israel. William Safran extends this concept in modern society to encompass a feeling of alienation, a nostalgic longing for the homeland and the self-consciousness act of defining one’s ethnicity. Over the past several decades, Chinese diasporic literature has generally been concerned with the motifs of nostalgia, homesickness, cultural identity and a sense of belonging.

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