Estonia and Taiwan are stuck in a stalemate over plans to open a Taiwanese office in Tallinn, illustrating difficulties in Taipei-Europe ties even as both feel pressure from China & Russia. w/ comments from @matejsimalcik.bsky.social and @williamyang120.bsky.social
asia.nikkei.com/politics/int...
Europe’s ability to strategically engage Taiwan & rebalance ties w/China depends on a nuanced grasp of cross-Strait dynamics.
A pleasure to host @williamyang120.bsky.social in Brussels at Martens Centre to explore how EU can step up in the region amid growing uncertainty surrounding the US role.
Donald Trump und Xi Jinping wollen morgen einen Handelsdeal schließen. Für die Taiwaner bedeutet das angespannte Stunden – und Erinnerungen an ein altes Trauma.
Analyse auf @spiegel.de (thanks @williamyang120.bsky.social)
www.spiegel.de/ausland/usa-...
Kinesiske agenter infiltrerer Taiwans militær med penge, kvinder og gambling. Nu kigger Taiwan mod Tel Aviv for at lære at stå imod. Jeg har set nærmere på anbefalingen fra en tidligere admiral: www.berlingske.dk/www.berlings... - vurdering v. @williamyang120.bsky.social
Thank you, Dr. Engel!
As a friend who has recently shared, sometimes the hardest part of a career transition is saying bye to a chapter of your life that has defined who you are professionally.
Hopefully, I will gradually learn the art of this challenging yet fascinating profession.
This is certainly an exciting yet challenging new chapter for me, as I make a transition from journalism to the policy world.
I'm still grappling with the change of my professional identity, especially after I thought journalism was what I had set my heart on for the foreseeable future.
I’ll be based in Taipei and focus on analyzing regional geopolitical dynamics through the lens of conflict prevention and resolution.
Personal news: Personal news: Following a months-long application process, I'm happy to announce that I'll start a new role as International Crisis Group's Senior Analyst on Northeast Asia on April 21.
Ngoc Hang, a retailer in Ho Chi Minh City, told VN Express that her revenues had dropped by half after the government announced the inspections and penalties.
“Consumers have called for boycotts, and I had to lower prices by 30-50% to liquidate my stocks.”
“Almost all children started to boycott [the dolls] because they saw it as a nationalistic issue, thinking that buying Baby Three was unpatriotic,” one vendor told AFP.
Retailers have slowed or stopped sales. According to data cited by state media from YouNet ECI, an e-commerce data analysis platform, the average price of Baby Three on Shopee and TikTok Shop halved in the first 10 weeks of 2025.
In response to online outcry, Vietnam’s industry and trade ministry ordered an inspection of toys supposedly displaying the line, warned they were “affecting national security and territorial sovereignty”.
However a suggestion that a heart-shaped design on one version of the doll looked like the controversial line that China’s government inserts on world maps to make a territorial claim over most the South China Sea sparked online backlash.
The Baby Three doll is Chinese-made and had reportedly been hugely popular among children and Gen Z in Vietnam earlier this year. Between September, when it first gained popularity, and December the dolls reportedly generated US$1.6m in sales.
Regional tensions over the South China Sea have tanked the sales of a popular children’s doll in Vietnam after it was put under investigation and accused of being unpatriotic because a design marking appeared to resemble China’s “nine-dash line”.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Calling the increase "limited... reasonable and stable", Wu said the extra cash would be used to develop "combat forces in new fields and with new qualities", and to enhance reconnaissance, joint strike and battlefield support capabilities.
"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) is a force of action in countering separatism and promoting reunification," said Wu.
"You've ridden your steed to the edge of the cliff. If you persist in taking the wrong course, you will meet a dead end," he warned.
"The more rampant 'Taiwan independence' separatists become, the tighter the noose around their necks and the sharper the sword hanging over their heads will be," military spokesman Wu Qian said, Xinhua news agency reported.
#China's military said Sunday (Mar 9) it would tighten its "noose" around Taiwan if separatism over the island escalated, warning proponents to step back from the "edge of the cliff" or face a "dead end", state media reported.
www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/ch...
In the words of Singapore's defense minister last month, America's image in the region "has changed from liberator to great disruptor to a landlord seeking rent."
Europe so far has borne the brunt of Trump's highly transactional foreign policy, but China, Taiwan and the rest of the Indo-Pacific are watching closely.
Elbridge Colby, a leading voice on the issue nominated for a top Pentagon role, told senators this week that Taiwan falling to China "would be a disaster for American interests."
Many top Trump officials have called for the U.S. to draw down its presence in Europe and the Middle East to focus on China's threat to Taiwan, seeing it as far more important than Ukraine.
Under the threat of tariffs, TSMC announced a $100 billion investment in U.S chip production this week — pleasing Trump, but alarming Taiwanese who fear it could make the island more vulnerable.
Unlike Ukraine, Taiwan plays a pivotal role in the global economy, with its crown jewel chip-maker, TSMC, manufacturing more than 90% of the world's most advanced semiconductors.
And whether it's Russia or China, Trump prefers to negotiate superpower-to-superpower — leaving allies in the cold, even when their sovereignty or security is at stake.
lines: Forget alliances or idealism. The only thing Trump cares about on the global stage is core U.S. interests.
For starters, Trump's approach toward Ukraine has dispelled the notion that he would defend Taiwan solely for the sake of shielding a democracy from authoritarian aggression.
S. presidents have had a long-running policy of "strategic ambiguity" on the question of military intervention to protect Taiwan. But under Trump 2.0, it has become a true mystery.