Taiwan Weekly is a newsletter released every week by Fair Winds Foundation, Association of Foreign Relations and Taipei Forum that provides coverage and perspectives into the latest developments in Taiwan.
"Four Noes" Referendum Campaign by DPP Only Incapacitates Taiwan's People
Taiwan is counting down to the four-question referendum vote on December 18.
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This Week in Taiwan 1024-1030
October 24: According to Italy's Corriere della Sera, China is putting pressure on the Holy See to sever diplomatic relations with Taiwan to establish diplomatic ties with the mainland. The Holy See insisted on establishing an embassy in Beijing first before discussing Taiwan-Vatican relations. The mainland did not yield on this issue, and the talks fell into deadlock.
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Biden Twice Promised to Defend Taiwan：Gaffe or Intended Departure from Strategic Ambiguity？
On October 21, President Joe Biden responded on CNN twice to the question, "Will the United States defend Taiwan if China attacks Taiwan?" by saying: "Yes, we have a commitment to do that."
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Speech Stumbles, Biden's Confusing Cross-Strait Policy
The remarks and posture from President Joe Biden down to important government officials in recent months highlighted that the United States has entered a state of chaos and no guiding principles in its current Taiwan or cross-strait policy.
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DPP Failed to Save Chen Po-wei, Exposing its Weakness
Despite the all-out help of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and a high voter turnout rate of nearly 52 percent, could not stop constituent voters from recalling Legislator Chen Po-wei, Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP) Legislator in Taichung.
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This Week in Taiwan 1017-1023
October 17: Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-shu was reported by the media that he was an informant for the intelligence when he was a student. Huang was expelled from the New Tide faction of the DPP a few months ago. He posted an apology on Facebook on October 17 for his actions at the time and announced his withdrawal from the DPP and the DPP caucus of the Legislative Yuan. After his current term expires, he will not seek re-election, meaning that he is likely to withdraw from politics in three years. Huang's frank confession shocked both the ruling and opposition parties. It is rumored that several other members of the DPP were informants and are still active in the political arena.
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Putin Backs China's Taiwan Policy：China Needs Not Use Military Force to Achieve Unification
President Vladimir Putin of Russia said to a United States reporter during the Russia Energy Week conference on October 13 that China is a huge and powerful economy, and through economic strength, China is fully capable of achieving its goal to unify Taiwan.
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Putin Remarks Leave President Tsai Lonely After Her National Day Performance
In a rare public comment on how Beijing could unify Taiwan, President Vladimir Putin of Russia stated in a recent interview that China is now the world's top economy and is already ahead of the United States, and that it does not need to use force to achieve the goal of unification with Taiwan but can do so through economic strength.
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Extraordinary Significance of High-Level Call Between U.S.-China Military Officials
A new book Peril recently set off a wave of heated discussion in Washington.
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This Week in Taiwan 1010-1016
October 11: In response to President Tsai Ing-wen's remarks that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of the State Council criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities as conspiring independence and provoking the mainland. According to the TAO, this is the source of tension and turbulence which threatens the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
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