Ashish Valentine
Facing an escalating threat from China, Taiwan could head into a constitutional crisis
As Taiwan’s opposing political parties argue over constitutional issues, Chinese military exercises steadily bring ships and aircraft closer to the island. Taiwan’s president wants more defense spending, while the opposition wants to avoid provoking China.
Taiwan’s political parties beset by sexual harassment allegations
Taiwan is having a #MeToo reckoning about sexual harassment in politics, several years after other parts of the world. Despite the relatively high number of women in public office, many instances of sexual harassment in the political scene have been ignored or covered up.
‘Kneel and apologize!’: 76 years after island-wide massacre, Taiwan continues to commemorate — and debate — the tragedy
On Feb. 28, 1947, the Chinese Nationalist Party began killing thousands of people across the island of Taiwan, in a massacre that lasted for months. Today, Taiwan continues to debates the circumstances of that tragedy — and the legacy of Chiang Kai-Shek.
Taiwanese young people have mixed feelings about increased military service
Taiwan’s president announced last week that mandatory military service for young people will increase from four months to a full year. There is substantial popular support for the move because of a rising threat from China, though among young people themselves, it’s more complicated.