This is a linchpin week. Britain’s new aircraft carrier stands by with courses ready for the South Sea. America has an inauguration scheduled amid more foreseeable chaos, likely greater than Hong Kong. Bad news on China only gets worse—while the… Read More ›

Taiwan
January 15, 1923 – Birth of Lee Teng-hui, 4th President of the Republic of China
Lee Teng-hui (15 January 1923 – 30 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who was the fourth president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the 1947 Constitution and chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT) from 1988 to 2000. He… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 9, 2021
Let’s look past the fact that Chinese state media doesn’t know what it means to be “cowardly”. Pompeo rejecting Chinese Communist preferences on US policy with Taiwan is not “cowardly”, at worst it would be “foolish” or “over-confidence”; but “cowardly”… Read More ›
Taiwan population has fallen, 1st time in memory
Taiwan’s population shrank for the first time ever in 2020, government data showed Friday, as the island faces a burgeoning demographic crisis similar to those affecting South Korea and Japan. Births last year plunged to 165,000, down seven percent from… Read More ›
January 6, 1950 – United Kingdom recognises People’s Republic of China. Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response
Chinese-United Kingdom relations, more commonly known as British–Chinese relations, Anglo-Chinese relations and Sino-British relations, refers to the interstate relations between China (with its various governments through history) and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom and China were on opposing sides… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, January 4, 2021
The Chinese make one huge gamble based on two doubtful conclusions. They think Biden will be inaugurated in January. They think they have deterred the US military in the Pacific. Both notions have been carefully feigned and crafted by the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 28, 2020
Anymore, it’s not only bad news about China, but continued action in both military and trade. The pressure Washington puts on Beijing keeps finding new ways to keep turning up. Sanctions continue to increase. Military attention rises. And, Japan puts… Read More ›
December 28, 1931 – Lin-Sen succeeds Chiang Kai-shek as President of Nanjing-China
Lin Sen (16 March 1868 – 1 August 1943) was a Chinese politician who served as Chairman of the National Government of the Republic of China from 1931 until his death. Born to a middle-class family in Shanggan Township, Minhou… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 21, 2020
Readers still can’t get a break from bad news of China. More Chinese companies are added to the notorious “entities list”. The WHO sends a team to China, which isn’t exactly wonderful press. China is the biggest military threat. The… Read More ›
December 15, 1978 – United States announces that it will recognise communist China
In one of the most dramatic announcements of the Cold War, President Jimmy Carter states that as of January 1, 1979, the United States will formally recognize the communist People’s Republic of China (PRC) and sever relations with Taiwan. Following… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 14, 2020
Hit pieces against China are coming out as if from an avalanche. More dangerous, they are coupled with Western plans of military expansion in China’s back yard. From Xinjiang teens to disappearing journalists to Australian wine to spies in America… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, December 7, 2020
A date which will live in infamy, 79 years ago. The Chinese warned the Japanese not to attack America for fear of waking a sleeping giant. Now, the Chinese are speeding against their own advice. The move will likely be… Read More ›
Chinese History: December 7, 1949 – The Government of the Republic of China moves from Nanking to Taipei, Taiwan during Chinese Civil War
The Government of the Republic of China was formally established in 1912 in Nanking, with Sun Yat-sen as President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of China under the Provisional Constitution of the Republic of China. This government moved… Read More ›
Invasion killer: Taiwan’s new subs a formidable force
On paper, as they say, China has a distinct advantage when it comes to naval power. Over the past decade, it has aggressively built up its navy to over 300 warships and submarines, making it the largest navy in the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 16, 2020
America is one of the most cunning nations, almost as much so as Britain. Chinese are known for signing contracts early, then negotiating after—something the West calls “reneging”, which breaks the contract. London always knew China wouldn’t be able to… Read More ›
China warns of action after US Secretary of State says Taiwan not part of China
China will strike back against any moves that undermine its core interests, its foreign ministry said on Friday, after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Taiwan “has not been a part of China”. China calls Taiwan the most… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 9, 2020
China and Taiwan are in a military face-off for a singular reason: xenophobia. Taiwan had everything it needed to counter China without help from the US, but it snubbed foreigners and still continues to do so today. Were it not… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, November 2, 2020
China, China, China. What is the world to think? As a condition of formalizing relations between the United States and Communist-controlled China, US law mandated weapons sales to Taiwan. Now, China is angry that the US upheld this law. Would… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 26, 2020
The flashpoint of Taiwan has become a pregnant possibility. Reportedly, a US military jet flew across Taiwan, and no one is fully certain over who claimed what and why. Taiwan’s government said something after the US government said something about… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 19, 2020
The new global trend is hit pieces against China; even a Taiwanese rapper is on the bandwagon. China’s solution to lack of technology is to take over countries that have enough freedom to create technology, then deprive those countries of… Read More ›
Americans willing to take risks to defend allies against China
Americans are overwhelmingly willing to take military risks in defending allies from China, according to a new poll from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. On a scale of 1 to 10—where 10 means one is willing to take… Read More ›
Taiwan Strait’s change is also waiting for US presidential post-election chaos
A Taiwan Strait civil war is what Washington hopes for. A first gun shot from Taipei is what Beijing hopes for. A direct military participation from the U.S. is what Taipei hopes for. It is the waiting game all have… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, October 5, 2020
The world is entering a realization phase: China doesn’t care what the world thinks or how the world responds. Beijing has become that annoying kid at school who has no friends, and his solution is to be more annoying. The… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 28, 2020
There are no new developments with China, only old squabbles. China is shouting louder and louder, and Western media publish more in-depth stories outlining the many countries China has squabbles with. China is losing over the TikTok ordeal, as well… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 21, 2020
Taiwan has become the center of China’s conflict with the world. One economy at a time, one government at a time, China has managed to insult the world. The Chinese have done such a good job of losing friends and… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 14, 2020
It was only a matter of time. The stories are breaking about Taiwan’s inhospitality toward foreigners. Taiwan has the lowest birthrate in the world. They need people; they need talent; they need support. By denying dual-citizenship to foreigners who would… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, September 7, 2020
As Philippa Georgiou said to Leland in the season 2 finale of Star Trek: Discovery, “We were just talking about you. Everybody hates you. Congratulations.” It goes without mention which country that statement is most relevant for, today. The Czech… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 31, 2020
There was always a stark difference between America’s southern wall and the Berlin Wall. America’s wall was built to keep people out—whether they were desperate to come in or hungry to invade. The Berlin Wall was meant to keep people… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 24, 2020
These days, Taiwan is the perfect poster boy in China bashing. Yes, China needs to be confronted. No, China can’t own the world. Yes, China wants to own the world. Yes, China responds to anything and everything like a friendless… Read More ›
Taiwan shows military might in slick video as China circles
China should not underestimate Taiwan’s determination to defend itself, and military threats will only cause Taiwan’s people to be even more resolute, the island’s defence ministry said in a new video responding to repeated Chinese threats. China has stepped up… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 17, 2020
All of us enjoy the results of the paths we choose, paths which no one can choose for us. Americans believe this so strongly, it often leads to unhealthy apathy toward others in distress. When America finally decides to help… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 10, 2020
China received two-and-a-half slaps in the face this week: financial sanctions against a few Chinese and Hong Kong leaders, who don’t have money in the US anyway, and the first formal diplomatic visit from America to Taiwan in over 40… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, August 3, 2020
If ever there were a time when two nations didn’t want to get along, it is now. If ever there were a time when a growing group of nations decided that a single other nation never wanted to get along,… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 27, 2020
Bail on Hong Kong, jump to Taiwan. That’s the move from everyone. Britain doesn’t bail on Hong Kong, but creates a path for Hong Kongers to bail on Hong Kong. Britain isn’t just walking away. By allowing British Overseas Passport… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, July 6, 2020
It’s official. China has broken the treaty that allows Hong Kong to be Chinese. The last time Britain accused China of breaking treaty, the Royal Navy opened fire on the Taiwan city of Tainan in 1858. The time before that… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 29, 2020
At what point is it okay to bully the bad guy? At what point does bullying the bad guy make the bully the bigger bad guy? This is a line China is fast approaching and the US is fast leaving…. Read More ›
World War III – China vs the rest of the world
“Hide your strength and bide your time.” China in 2008 “No force can shake the status of our great motherland, No force can stop the advance of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation.” China in 2019 The above statements… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 22, 2020
China seems desperate for war. America has typically been the infamous provocateur. That’s how China paints things. That’s how Japan and Germany saw things. But, China has taken up a new role. Buzzing jets into Taiwanese airspace is just one… Read More ›
Taiwan Black Lives Matter protest gets indigenous twist
Hundreds packed into a park in central Taipei on Saturday for a Black Lives Matter protest, with a group of indigenous Taiwanese given prominent billing to draw attention to discrimination against the island’s original inhabitants. The rally, attended by more… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 15, 2020
The West and China just won’t back down from each other. China will no longer try to work through former Mayor Han of Kaohsiung to reunite Taiwan against the will of 23 million people. America wants to put new missiles… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 8, 2020
If China thinks that the poll numbers looking low or that the unrest in America means the Xi doctrine has a widening path on the road ahead, they should think again. But, being Confucian Communist, that’s hard. Trump actually may… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, June 1, 2020
China says every effort will be made for peaceful reunification with Taiwan as long as there remains hope; force is the last resort. But, Taiwan wants peaceful freedom from tyranny; force is the last resort. There is no hope for… Read More ›
Cadence of Conflict: Asia, May 25, 2020
Taiwan has a new Vice President: Former Premier William Lai, known for his pro-independence posture. China won’t be happy, but China is rarely happy these days. The Chinese made two loud omissions in their rhetoric this week. When talking about… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, May 18, 2020
It was a week of slap after slap in China’s face. Congress pokes at Human Rights in Xinjiang among other old-news grievances. China “warns” the US—again—about Huawei, apparently unaware that warnings require power or at least clout, of which China… Read More ›
Cadence Cadence: Asia, April 27, 2020
China is under global attack from all sides. It’s not just the government, but a sizeable portion of the Chinese people who cooperate with that government. We don’t know how many in China are part of the problem or the… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 20, 2020
Just when we thought China couldn’t make itself more unpopular, China made itself more unpopular. Perhaps it was charity. Perhaps it was delusion. We don’t like thinking bad things about others, especially if we sacrificed our jobs and economies to… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 13, 2020
The global case against China is marching forward in force. Typically the West doesn’t care about human rights violations—they care, but never enough to do anything until it involves themselves. Two million Uyghurs missing in Xinjiang doesn’t matter to the… Read More ›
With the world distracted, China intimidates Taiwan
The tanks queued patiently with the cars, delivery trucks and bright yellow taxis before rolling serenely through the traffic lights. The drill, in Yuanshan, a town south-east of Taipei, was intended as practice at repelling a Chinese invasion. Some of… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, April 6, 2020
The pneumoniavirus is having a detrimental effect on China. While Xi Jinping kicks China’s economy into full swing, the rest of the world is on full alert. Manufacturing moves home—whether to or from China. Countries seek alternate supply sourcing. Taiwan… Read More ›
Cadence Column: Asia, March 23, 2020
China’s in trouble—deep trouble. America pauses with the same hush of silence that swept the country from the outskirts of Washington to New Orleans in 1812, gathering around the radio in 1941, or staring at the same TV images on… Read More ›