Semiconductors, Supply Chains, and the Fate of Taiwan

Innovation in science and technology has become the main battleground of the global strategic contest.[1] — Xi Jinping, 28 May 2021 Realising the complete reunification of the Motherland is the shared longing of all Chinese sons and daughters and represents the essence of National Rejuvenation.[2] — Xi Jinping, 13 March 2023 Introduction At the Two … more

How Fearful is China’s Military Rise?

DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley/Released

During a meeting with delegates from the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the People’s Armed Police Force at the Fourteenth National People’s Congress in March 2023, Xi Jinping called for the improvement of China’s ‘integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities’ and to ‘accelerate the modernisation of [the] army as a world-class armed force’. His speech … more

Letters From Lockdown II

In a news conference held on 15 March 2022, Shanghai city officials told reporters that ‘there’s no need to lock down the city’. Thirteen days later, on 28 March 2022 officials announced a five day lockdown of Shanghai, China’s biggest financial hub. Many of the city’s residents prepared a week or two weeks’ worth of groceries and … more

Letters From Lockdown

In a news conference held on 15 March 2022, Shanghai city officials told reporters that ‘there’s no need to lock down the city’. Thirteen days later, on 28 March 2022 officials announced a five day lockdown of Shanghai, China’s biggest financial hub. Many of the city’s residents prepared a week or two weeks’ worth of … more

The Communist Party of China — Where Are the Women?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/remkotanis/8165953012

At the Twentieth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), not a single woman was elected to the Politburo. Women’s participation in Chinese elite politics has stalled as men continue to dominate political power. The systemic underrepresentation of women in China’s elite politics clashes with the Party’s propaganda about increasing ‘the proportion of … more

A ‘No Limits’ Partnership? China-Russia Strategic Cooperation

On 4 February 2022, the opening day of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and only twenty days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China and Russia declared a ‘no limits’ partnership that ‘surpasses an alliance.’ Given China’s and Russia’s geopolitical ambitions and boundaries, a tighter alignment between the two countries could significantly change the power structure … more

PSYOPS and Cyber War in Taiwan

Cyberattacks targeting Taiwan are nothing new. Every day, there are both attempted and successful attacks targeting government and private sector websites. But during Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island in August 2022, we saw a drastic increase in cyberattacks and cybercrime generally. The Taiwanese Government recorded twenty-three times more cyberattacks than usual on 2 August. … more