The Taiwan-China thaw
Politics, trade, and corruption collide in Taipei
“The Taiwan Strait continues to narrow,” said The Japan Times in an editorial. Last week, Taiwan hosted its highest-level meeting with mainland China since the two split in a 1949 civil war. Such bridge-building is great for “peace and stability in the region,” but it would have been “unthinkable” before March, when Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou defeated President Chen Shui-bian of the “independence-minded Democratic Progressive Party,” whom China shunned.
That’s nonsense, said Jerome Keating in the Taipei Times. Most of agreements China and Ma’s government signed last week were fashioned under Chen. Nothing historic happened except that “an arrogant, low-level Chinese official deigned to visit Taiwan”—and was met with huge, angry protests that the incompetent Ma should have foreseen and defused.
Well, Chen at least “made history” this week, said Natalie Tso in Time online, becoming the first ex-president sent to jail in Taiwan. The first-ever DPP president and “a symbol of the Taiwanese independence movement,” Chen says Ma arrested him to “appease China” and improve cross-strait relations, but even some former supporters accept the financial corruption charges against him.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yes, Chen is a “hopeless miscreant” and a “confessed tax evader,” said Michael Turton in The View from Taiwan, but this is still a “political prosecution.” Nine DPP politicians are being held under sometimes sketchy circumstances, and despite prosecutors’ claims, not all of them are involved in the Chen case.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
What should you be stockpiling for 'World War Three'?
In the Spotlight Britons advised to prepare after the EU tells its citizens to have an emergency kit just in case
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Carnivore diet: why people are eating only meat
The Explainer 'Meatfluencers' are taking social media by storm but experts warn meat-only diets have health consequences
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
'Seriously, not literally': how should the world take Donald Trump?
Today's big question White House rhetoric and reality look likely to become increasingly blurred
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Will Trump's 'madman' strategy pay off?
Today's Big Question Incoming US president likes to seem unpredictable but, this time round, world leaders could be wise to his playbook
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Democrats vs. Republicans: who are the billionaires backing?
The Explainer Younger tech titans join 'boys' club throwing money and support' behind President Trump, while older plutocrats quietly rebuke new administration
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US election: where things stand with one week to go
The Explainer Harris' lead in the polls has been narrowing in Trump's favour, but her campaign remains 'cautiously optimistic'
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Is Trump okay?
Today's Big Question Former president's mental fitness and alleged cognitive decline firmly back in the spotlight after 'bizarre' town hall event
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published