What does it mean to be Taiwanese?
Decades later, only 3% of people in Taiwan consider themselves primarily Chinese. But plenty of people don't think of themselves as being fully Taiwanese, either. That ambiguity is being exploited by China's Communist Party, which insists the island is part of China, and has threatened to take it by force. Without a concrete sense of what it means to be Taiwanese, how will people resist?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economist
2 hours ago
- Economist
China's savage squabble with Europe
How long can they continue to do so? Outrage mounts over a tryst between a Chinese student and a Ukrainian gamer Xu Zewei was arrested in Milan on July 3rd Can provincial DOGE-ing help them avoid it? Some contemplate suicide. Others vaunt their folly as influencers His League of Social Democrats, the territory's last pro-democracy party, disbanded this week
Economist
3 hours ago
- Economist
Meet the most important voice in Australian foreign policy
Penny Wong, Australia's foreign minister, prefers to talk about her job, not herself. Asked what it was like to be in Washington on January 20th, listening to Donald Trump's inaugural polemic against 'woke' politics, the first gay person and first Asian-Australian to hold the office answers by drawing on a different identity. 'I'm a parliamentarian,' she says, 'so the peaceful transfer of power in the world's superpower was quite a moving event.' Ms Wong's answer reveals a political savvy and quick wit that have made her the most popular minister in Australia's Labor government, re-elected in a thumping of the opposition in May's general election, and the most consequential Australian foreign minister in a generation. Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, has little interest in questions of geopolitics, leaving them to Ms Wong and Richard Marles, the defence minister. But Ms Wong's popularity and reputation for mastering her brief means that hers is the most important voice on the big strategic questions. When Labor returned to office in 2022, Ms Wong inherited a mess. The previous government, a conservative coalition, had turned sharply against China, which in turn had stopped buying Australian commodities or taking its ministers' phone calls. More worryingly, China had signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islands on Australia's northern approaches and was looking to rack up more deals with other island states wary of the previous government's refusal to take climate change seriously. The announcement in 2021 of the AUKUS submarine-building pact surprised South-East Asia, which reacted with suspicion. So the dramatic improvement in relations with the rest of the region has been Ms Wong's big achievement. But what is impressive is that it has been accomplished mainly through her personal diplomacy, without any underlying change in policy. A gruelling travel schedule in her first year on the job took Ms Wong to 18 Pacific Island states and every country in South-East Asia but Myanmar. China has slowly lifted all trade restrictions imposed under the previous government, but Australia has continued to work closely with America to constrain China's regional ambitions. AUKUS remains on the books. A big part of this has been the rapport with her counterparts in Asia. Ms Wong was born in Malaysia to an ethnic Chinese father and an Australian mother, and lived on the island of Borneo until eight years old. She has begun to talk about this heritage more now, she says, because she wants Asia to see the multicultural society that Australia has become. She was only the second Asian-Australian elected to parliament in 2001. But, she points out, there are now more than a dozen serving. Nor has her sexual identity been a hindrance. One minister from a conservative Muslim country regularly asks after her wife. Ms Wong's diplomatic skills will be put to the test in her second term. Australia faces a more difficult international situation than during Labor's first three years in office. China continues to bully its neighbours. But now the Pentagon is demanding that Australia sharply increase defence spending, and asking it to commit in advance to fighting alongside America were it to fight China over Taiwan. Many Australians regard this as an affront to their sovereignty. AUKUS hangs in the balance. Critics say that Ms Wong has not done enough to preserve the alliance with America. She has met Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, twice, but otherwise the government seems to be keeping the Trump administration at arms' length. In a speech in Kuala Lumpur in May, she highlighted Australia's differences with America on trade. Asked whether she fears such talk might lead to a backlash, Ms Wong shrugs. 'I think we have to be who we are.' ■
Reuters
8 hours ago
- Reuters
Sirens wail, cities shut down as Taiwan simulates Chinese air raid
TAIPEI, July 17 (Reuters) - Sirens wailed, roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Thursday during an annual air-raid exercise aimed at preparing for any Chinese missile attack. Sirens sounded at 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes. An alert, asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via phone text message by the defence ministry. "Air Defence Drill. Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter," it read in Chinese and English, accompanied by a shrill alarm. Taiwan authorities this month updated instructions on what people should do when air-raid alerts are issued, including for citizens who are not able to get into shelters in time or for those who are driving a car. China, whose government views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory over the island's rejection, has ramped up its military pressure over the past five years, including almost daily fighter jet flights into the skies around the island. In the past 24 hours, 58 Chinese military planes including fighter jets were detected around Taiwan, its defence ministry said. Among them, 45 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer zone. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China reviles as a "separatist", rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. During the drill, police in Taipei directed vehicles to move to the side of roads and people already not inside were told to seek shelter. Some shops and restaurants pulled down shutters and turned off lights - steps aimed at reducing the risk of becoming a target in the event of a night-time attack. Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear. The civil defence drills are taking place at the same time as Taiwan's largest ever military drills, which simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure, as well as China's grey zone tactics including military incursions and a disinformation campaign designed to test Taiwan's response.
