Written By Meng Kit Tang. This article examines what Taiwan’s Han Kuang 42 exercise and China’s expanding mock-Taipei training facilities reveal about how both sides are preparing for the opening hours of a Taiwan Strait conflict. It argues that both sides are preparing for the same strategic problem from opposite directions: Taiwan is trying to preserve time and China is preparing to compress that window.
Written by Lourdes Ames-Rodriguez. “One China” and “status quo” are two contested concepts at the centre of the cross-Strait tension. This article argues that while differing interpretations of the concepts have been instrumental in maintaining short-term peace in the Taiwan Strait, they ultimately hinder prospects for a lasting, peaceful resolution by entrenching opposing positions and delaying necessary political decisions.
Written by Josh Boynton. This article argues that Taiwan’s democratisation did more than just change how Taiwan was governed, but also allowed Taiwanese to publicly express who they thought they were. It created a new social and political experience that solidified into a unique Taiwanese identity and became a moderating force, especially for the younger generation who have no memory of authoritarian rule.
Written by Sheng-mei Ma. This is Part II of the article. Through a close reading of the Chinese TV series Reset, the article argues that its recurring time loops, terrorism, and symbolic imagery allegorise authoritarian violence, historical repetition, and state repression in the People’s Republic of China, which ultimately frames Taiwan as the regime’s imagined final object of political and territorial consumption.
Written by Sheng-mei Ma. This is Part I of the article. Through a close reading of the Chinese TV series Reset, the article argues that its recurring time loops, terrorism, and symbolic imagery allegorise authoritarian violence, historical repetition, and state repression in the People’s Republic of China, which ultimately frames Taiwan as the regime’s imagined final object of political and territorial consumption.
Written by Huynh Tam Sang and Truong Tuan Kiet. This article argues that Cheng Li-wun’s claim that “Taiwan doesn’t have to choose” is implausible and misaligned with the current geopolitical context. Taiwan must accept the painful reality that neutrality is an illusion. It does not have the luxury to simply opt out of the geopolitical tug-of-war between the U.S. and China and should adopt the “porcupine strategy”.
