In Nanjing in 1946, the government of the Republic of China (ROC), in the midst of a civil war, decided to delineate the territory of the Republic so that it could reconstruct the country after the expected successful conclusion of the war against the Communists. ROC officials studied old documents and records that suggested the … more
1. Solomon Islands In the Solomon Islands last week, anti-government protests broke out, with protestors burning Chinatown in the capital Honiara. The Solomon Islands Government requested help from Australia, which sent police and military personnel. Prime Minister Sogavare blamed unspecified “foreign powers” for encouraging this civil unrest. It is unclear which foreign powers he refers … more
1. Chinese language media in Australia Two recently published papers shed some insights on Chinese-language media in Australia: Waning Sun’s journal article “Chinese-language digital news media in Australia” published in June in Continuum: Journal of Media and Cultural Studies and Fan Yang’s analysis “Translating tension” published last week by the Lowy Institute. Sun focused her … more
President Trump was not popular across Asia. From Japan and South Korea to Southeast Asia, he had a negative effect on perceptions of the United States. In Australia, there was a palpable sense of relief at his departure so that normalcy could return. But Taiwan was staunchly pro-Trump. Opinion polling shows that—unlike other parts of … more
Only 15 countries worldwide maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan as of May 2021. Among those, Paraguay stands out as Taiwan’s only South American ally. As a consequence of its recognition policy, the country missed out on the Chinese finance received by its neighbours. However, beyond simple ‘checkbook diplomacy’ Paraguay uses its diplomatic recognition policy for … more
The military pressure in the Taiwan Strait is heating up. Last week, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) tasked a naval formation consisting of aircraft carrier Liaoning to sail through the waters around Japan and Taiwan, which has been described as a “military advance.” On the other side, the U.S. carrier strike group led by … more
The Taiwan Strait is a key hotspot in the intensifying US-China rivalry, where the two superpowers’ spheres of influence overlap. Beijing claims the area as a uncompromisable “core interest” of sovereignty and territorial integrity, while the US seeks to maintain its close economic, political and security relationship with Taiwan. Whether it likes it or not, … more
This week’s topics: Cross-strait relations, the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, and Nationalism and censorship online. 1. Cross-strait relations China and the US are moving on a collision course with respect to Taiwan. War is still highly unlikely in the short term, however, given the interests of both sides in avoiding such catastrophe. But … more
The recent official visit of the Czech Senate President Miloš Vystrčil to Taiwan sparked a diplomatic row between the Czechia and the People’s Republic of China. Beijing has long considered any official visit to Taiwan by foreign politicians as tantamount to challenging its core interest. The war of words has extended beyond Chinese and Czech … more
China Neican is a weekly column on the China Story blog written by Yun Jiang and Adam Ni from the China Policy Centre in Canberra. Neican 内参 or “internal reference” are limited circulation reports only for the eyes of high-ranking officials in China, dealing with topics deemed too sensitive for public consumption. But rest assured, … more
