Author: Nitin Pai, Takshashila Institution

Taiwan’s presidential elections, since they first started in 1996, have in large part been referenda on the ‘One China’ policy.

Voters are generally offered two deviations from the status quo — either a path toward eventual reunification with mainland China or a path toward independence. Read more…

Author: Nitin Pai, Takshashila Institution

The Global Times, a newspaper owned by the People’s Daily, often acts as an unofficial mouthpiece for the Communist Party of China. Last month, it devoted an astonishing half of its  editorials to threatening the US, South Korea, Vietnam and Southeast Asian countries in response to their perceived challenges to China in the Western Pacific. The strident criticism concluded with a thinly veiled threat: ‘China’s long-term strategic plan should never be taken as a weak stand. While [it] is clear that military clashes would bring bad results to all countries in the region involved, China will never waive its right to protect its core interest with military means.’

The editors of the Global Times do not speak for themselves. Read more…