Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Xi’s war on culture stirs fears

Taipei Times Editorial

A plethora of seemingly random interventions by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into China’s private sector has sent Wall Street into a tailspin, leaving many investors, in Taiwan and abroad, questioning whether Beijing is still committed to its post-Cultural Revolution embrace of capitalism and free markets.

The moves have included a crackdown on billionaires and homegrown technology giants, limiting video game time for people younger than 18 to three hours per week, closing private and online education enterprises, purging “morally corrupt” celebrities and the planned censorship of “unhealthy” karaoke songs.

Taiwan applies to Pacific trade deal

Taipei Times

Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua speaks at a news conference in Taipei on Nov. 21 last year.
Photo: CNA

Taiwan has submitted an application to join a Pacific trade deal, just days after China sent its own request to become a member of the agreement that was once pushed by Washington as a way to isolate Beijing and solidify US dominance in the region.

Time to diversify away from China

Taipei Times Editorial

China on Sunday announced the suspension of imports of wax apples and custard apples from Taiwan. It was to take effect the very next day.

This caused consternation in Taiwan because of how quickly the ban was to take effect and because many fruit farmers in southern Taiwan rely on the Chinese market, which previously took a 90 percent share of the nation’s wax apple and custard apple exports.

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) condemned Beijing’s move, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) called it unacceptable and the government informed China that it would take the matter to the WTO if it is not resolved by Thursday next week.

Tsai in meeting with Takaichi touts closer cooperation

Taipei Times

Japanese lawmaker Sanae Takaichi, a candidate in the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, is pictured on a videoconference with President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday.
Photo copied by Lin Tsui-yi, Taipei Times

Presidential Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has expressed the hope that Taiwan and Japan could cooperate more closely in a conversation with Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker and former Japanese minister of internal affairs and communications Sanae Takaichi, who is vying to become her nation’s first female prime minister.

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