Politics – Taiwan Insight

Batting for the Nation(s): Baseball and the Conditional Rise of Competing Identities in Taiwan

18 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Daniel Yu-Kuei Sun, Jou Fei Huang and Thung-Hong Lin. The article examines how international baseball success influences national identity in Taiwan. Using polling data from the 2024 Premier12 tournament, the authors argue that key victories strengthened exclusive Taiwanese identity while reducing dual Taiwanese-Chinese identification. However, identity shifts varied by opponent and political affiliation, revealing the contingent, emotional, and contested nature of Taiwanese nationhood.

Myths, Misread: Taiwanese Baseball’s Identity Gap

17 June 2026 Chee-Hann Wu

Written by Jerry Chen. The article explores how Taiwanese baseball has been shaped by colonialism, nationalism, and identity politics, from Japanese rule to the Kuomintang era. It argues that myths surrounding youth baseball success and the “Chinese Taipei” designation obscure

When Did Who Say What To Whom: Summit Meetings As Political Theatre

8 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Chieh-Ting Yeh. Amid the fanfare and signals from the Cheng-Xi and Trump-Xi summits, this article suggests that Taiwan should be proactive in its own path forward, instead of being bogged down in trying to rely on certain individuals’ delusions of grandeur to solve complex global conflicts, or interpreting signals coming out of these political skits called “summits.”

Peace, Memory and the Risks We Choose Not to See

5 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Ming-yeh T. Rawnsley (蔡明燁). Drawing on Behind The Scenes’ reflections on Taiwan’s democratic development and the Tangwai movement, this article explores contemporary debates over peace, security, and the costs associated with preserving freedom and democracy. At its core, it asks readers to reflect on the meaning of peace and the risks societies may choose to acknowledge – or ignore – in pursuing it.

Fearful Summitry: Xi Jinping’s Meeting with Donald Trump and Implications for Taiwan and Cross-Strait Relations

4 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Jacques deLisle. This article argues that though Taiwan avoided the worst imagined outcomes from the Trump-Xi summit, the uncertainty and, in turn, the fears yielded by the meeting reflect, and are likely to worsen, the challenges Taiwan faces in cross-Strait and international relations. For Taiwan, all of this means deepening challenges in evaluating risks and making difficult policy choices.

Against Independence?: Shifts in US Posture on Cross-Strait Relations As a Second-Order Effect of the Rise of Cheng Li-Wun

3 June 2026 Adrian Chiu

Written by Brian Hioe. This article suggests that the state of play for cross-strait relations has taken an unexpected turn in the past months. In a relatively short time, Cheng Li-wun was not only able to secure a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but indirectly caused US President Donald Trump to echo her language on cross-strait relations through Xi.

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