Month: March 2023

Advertisement Russia’s Gazprom is increasing gas supplies to China and expects soon to reach the maximum planned level through a Siberian pipeline, its chairman said Wednesday, highlighting Beijing’s importance as his country’s top export market in the face of Western sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine. Gazprom is negotiating with China over a possible additional supply project across neighboring Mongolia, Viktor Zubkov said at a government-organized economic forum. He said the company is open to serving other Asian markets. Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government sees Moscow as a diplomatic partner…

Advertisement In February, the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation (TPOF) announced the latest results of an opinion poll that asked “If the Chinese Communist Party invades Taiwan by force, do you believe the United States will send troops to defend Taiwan?” Compared to the previous poll in August 2022, the number of respondents answering “don’t know” were up by more than 2 points [2020: 8.4 percent, 2023: 10.7 percent], while “believe” accounted for 42.8 percent [2022: 44.1 percent] and “do not believe” 46.5 percent [2022: 47.5 percent] of responses, almost unchanged…

Advertisement Ma Ying-jeou made history when he met with Xi Jinping on November 7, 2015, in Singapore. This was the first face-to-face meeting between presidents of the Republic of China and People’s Republic of China, respectively, in six decades. Navigating the complicated cross-strait relationship, Xi and Ma agreed to shake hands but addressed one another as “Mr.” instead of “President.” Not surprisingly, the meeting became headline news in the world media and was globally billed as “symbolic,” “landmark,” and “historic.” It was the highlight of the warm cross-strait relationship that…

Advertisement On March 26, the authorities of Honduras announced that the Central American state had cut off diplomatic ties with Taipei and recognized Beijing as the sole government representing China. Shortly after, Chinese official media declared the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Honduras.  Honduras is the ninth diplomatic ally Taiwan has lost since Tsai Ing-wen assumed office in 2016. Taiwan now only has 13 diplomatic allies left. Compared with Nicaragua’s sudden shift in 2021, Honduras’ decision seemed to be well-planned, as the incumbent President Xiomara Castro put a…

Advertisement After the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic and China’s imposition of the national security law (NSL), the Hong Kong government is anxious about the city’s attractiveness to foreign investment. They hosted a series of forums and summits to promote Hong Kong’s return to “business as usual.” They also organized numerous propaganda campaigns and roadshows to tell “a good Hong Kong story.” Their aim appears simple: to convince the global community that the city remains an attractive place for investment despite China’s economic downturn, especially after the zero COVID policy.…