Taiwan: fishing for a fishery agreement with the Philippines
Filipino protesters wearing fish masks march with placards in front of the Philippine flag during a rally outside the Chinese Consular office in Makati City, south of Manila, Philippines, 11 June 2013 (Photo: AAP).

Author: Lucio Blanco Pitlo III, University of the Philippines Asian Center

Manila and Taipei are presently locked in a maritime row after an incident on 9 May in which Philippine maritime authorities shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in waters belonging to northern Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone.

Responding to intense public pressure, Taipei has demanded an official apology, compensation for the victim’s family, a speedy inquiry on the incident and talks on a fishery agreement. Read more…

Taiwan’s strategic confusion
Taiwan US Trade

Author: Wen-Ti Sung, ANU

Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou’s mantra of ‘no unification, no independence, and no use of force’ is coming under increasing strain.

This pressure is due to a number of factors — Washington’s benign neglect of Taiwan, Beijing’s ever-stronger leverage over Taipei, and Taiwan’s own strategic confusion. Read more…

Taiwan’s election results raise Chinese expectations
Taiwan President and ruling Kuomintang presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou and his wife, Chou Mei-ching, greet supporters after winning the presidential elections outside the party campaign headquarters in Taipei on 14 January 2012. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Sheryn Lee, ANU

On 14 January, Taiwan’s incumbent president, Ma Ying-jeou, won a second term in office, obtaining 51.6 per cent of the popular vote while Tsai Ing-wen, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opponent, managed 45.6 per cent.

Ma’s party, the Kuomintang (KMT), thus retained control of the Legislative Yuan, securing 64 of the 113 seats. Read more…

Taiwan’s elections: double victory, double challenge
Ma Ying-jeou Wins Second Term

Author: Malcolm Cook, Flinders University

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and the Kuomintang (KMT) won a double victory at the 14 January elections. Ma was re-elected — albeit with a much smaller margin — and the KMT maintained a reduced majority in the Legislative Yuan.

Read more…

Taiwan’s vote and its international implications
Pasuya Yao (C), director of the Taiwan Government Information Office, points to an advertisement for the 13th bid to join the United Nations by Taiwan. (Photo: AAP)

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…

Taiwan’s colour-coded politics
Supporters wave election flags at a campaign rally for Taiwan's opposition presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen in Taichung on January 12, 2012. Tsai is challenging incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou on the January 14 vote in her bid to become Taiwan's first female president. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Jennifer Chen, Georgetown University

Taiwan will hold its fifth direct presidential election on 14 January. But many Taiwanese will go to the ballot box without understanding the specific differences between the two leading presidential candidates.

In Taiwan, people tend to vote for the colour — blue for the Kuomintang (KMT) and green for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — rather than the strengths and qualities associated with each candidate. Read more…

Taipei and Tokyo: toward a closer relationship?
Presidential candidates, from left, Taiwanese President and the ruling Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou, Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen and People First Party's James Soong, stand together before their presidential debate in Taipei. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Thomas S. Wilkins, University of Sydney

The Taiwanese presidential election is due to be held on 14 January. As the election draws near, analysts in Taiwan are avidly sifting the tea leaves to predict what the future holds — will the incumbent leader, Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang (KMT) gain a second term and continue his rapprochement with the PRC mainland?

Or will Tsai Ing-wen, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opponent, unseat Ma and seek to reinforce Taiwan’s distinct identity? At present, polls show almost an even split in support for the two candidates. Read more…

China and the US F-16 upgrade sale to Taiwan
An armed US-made F-16 fighter takes off from the highway in Tainan, southern Taiwan, during the Han Kuang drill on April 12, 2011. The Taiwanese air force used a closed-off freeway as a runway in a rare drill simulating a Chinese surprise attack that had wiped out its major airbases. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Sheryn Lee, ANU

The US confirmed last month that it will uphold a commitment to refurbish Taiwan’s aging F-16A/B jet fighter fleet in a US$5.85 billion arms package.

This has once again sparked debate about whether Washington’s continued arms sales to Taipei serve the region’s interests in maintaining the cross-Strait status quo. Read more…

US arms sales to Taiwan: impact on Sino-American relations
An air-to-air missile is fired from a Mirage 2000-5 jet of the Taiwan Air Force during a drill held at the Chiupeng military base in southern Taiwan on 18 January 2011. Taiwan showed its force during a live-fire missile exercise, highlighting the perceived military threat from China despite fast warming between the two former acrimonious rivals. (Photo: AAP)

Author: Carlyle A Thayer, UNSW Canberra

The Obama Administration’s decision to sell Taiwan an arms package worth $5.85 billion is a carefully calibrated decision designed to meet US legal obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

It is also a decision that carefully calibrates the impact on Sino–American relations at a time of improved relations not only between Washington and Beijing but between Beijing and Taipei. Read more…