Taiwan Issue Research Articles

Status of Taiwan and the evolution of Taiwanese identity

The Taiwan issue, which originated from China’s civil war, not only defines the complex relationship between Beijing and Taipei but also has significant implications for security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The article examines the evolution of Taiwan’s status and the formation of Taiwanese identity within the context of the escalating geopolitical confrontation between China and the United States. The study focuses on historical, political, and cultural factors that have shaped Taiwanese identity, offering a fresh perspective that goes beyond previous binary ideological assessments. The authors highlight the influential role of historical heritage, including Chinese cultural influence, Polynesian culture, the Japanese colonial period, and Taiwan’s interaction with the United States, in shaping a unique hybrid Taiwanese identity. The analysis presented in the paper makes it evident that the Taiwan issue is not only intensified by the increasing US support for «separatist forces» on the island but also by the inherent dynamics of great-power competition. Taiwan aims to leverage global uncertainty to strengthen its international standing and assert its own agency. The findings of this study demonstrate that amid the intense US-Chinese competition, the expression of Taiwanese identity becomes magnified, thereby further complicating the pursuit of a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan issue in the long run. The conclusion derived from this research is relevant for understanding and forecasting the future dynamics of the situation in the Taiwan Strait.

Application of an Effective Hierarchical Deep-Learning-Based Object Detection Model Integrated with Image-Processing Techniques for Detecting Speed Limit Signs, Rockfalls, Potholes, and Car Crashes

Against the backdrop of rising road traffic accident rates, measures to prevent road traffic accidents have always been a pressing issue in Taiwan. Road traffic accidents are mostly caused by speeding and roadway obstacles, especially in the form of rockfalls, potholes, and car crashes (involving damaged cars and overturned cars). To address this, it was necessary to design a real-time detection system that could detect speed limit signs, rockfalls, potholes, and car crashes, which would alert drivers to make timely decisions in the event of an emergency, thereby preventing secondary car crashes. This system would also be useful for alerting the relevant authorities, enabling a rapid response to the situation. In this study, a hierarchical deep-learning-based object detection model is proposed based on You Only Look Once v7 (YOLOv7) and mask region-based convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN) algorithms. In the first level, YOLOv7 identifies speed limit signs and rockfalls, potholes, and car crashes. In the second level, Mask R-CNN subdivides the speed limit signs into nine categories (30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, and 110 km/h). The images used in this study consisted of screen captures of dashcam footage as well as images obtained from the Tsinghua-Tencent 100K dataset, Google Street View, and Google Images searches. During model training, we employed Gaussian noise and image rotation to simulate poor weather conditions as well as obscured, slanted, or twisted objects. Canny edge detection was used to enhance the contours of the detected objects and accentuate their features. The combined use of these image-processing techniques effectively increased the quantity and variety of images in the training set. During model testing, we evaluated the model’s performance based on its mean average precision (mAP). The experimental results showed that the mAP of our proposed model was 8.6 percentage points higher than that of the YOLOv7 model—a significant improvement in the overall accuracy of the model. In addition, we tested the model using videos showing different scenarios that had not been used in the training process, finding the model to have a rapid response time and a lower overall mean error rate. To summarize, the proposed model is a good candidate for road safety detection.

The Implications of Sino-American Relations on the World Order – The Taiwan Strait Issue –

This article aims to highlight, in a realist perspective, the importance of Sino-US relations and the diplomatic steps taken by the main global actors in the context of the military actions in Ukraine. In order to provide an authentic portrayal of the characteristics of the international security environment and, in particular, of the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on the Taiwan issue, I have taken an overview of the situation in the region, with reference to recent history and the current context, while showing the implications of Sino-American relations over security and the role of the AUKUS and QUAD alliances in the politico-military sphere. The current crisis on the international arena, triggered by the individual or joint actions of certain state actors, has political, economic and military aspects with serious repercussions for the whole community and affects global security to a degree that brings the military component to the fore. This “atrophy” is being addressed by a number of events taking place at different points around the globe, namely the war in Ukraine, the Asia-Pacific region and the Taiwan Strait, where the interests of major state actors are involved and are finding it difficult to reach a consensus.

The Multiverse of Taiwan’s Future: Reconsidering the Independence–Unification (Tondu) Attitudes

For decades, scholars have constructed various ways to measure Taiwanese public opinion on the nation’s future, the independence–unification ( Tondu) question. While existing surveys find that Taiwanese people become more likely to support independence, the majority still favors the “status quo” option. Existing measurements have a number of weaknesses. For instance, most do not inform citizens what the “status quo” means, nor do they specify when and how independence and unification will manifest in reality. We propose a new approach to measuring citizens’ preferences of the nation’s future by specifying five mutually exclusive options on the independence–unification spectrum and field a nationwide survey to illustrate the validity of the new typology. Compared with traditional measurements, our method has more substantial explanatory power for several key political issues in Taiwan.

The Taiwan Issue From the Perspective of International Crisis Management: History and Future

The Taiwan Issue From the Perspective of International Crisis Management: History and Future

Sinophobia was popular in Chinese language communities on Twitter during the early COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a global surge in Sinophobia. We examine how Chinese language users responded to COVID-19 on Western social media by compiling a unique database (CNTweets) with over 25 million Chinese tweets mentioning any Chinese characters related to China, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Chinese, and Asians from December 2019 to April 2021. Our analysis of Twitter users’ self-reported geographic information shows that most Chinese language users on Twitter originated from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States. We then adopt the Robustly Optimized Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (RoBERTa) and structural topic modeling to further analyze the sentiments, content, and topics of Chinese tweets during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results suggest that 61.8% of tweets in our database were contributed by only 1% of Twitter users and 62.2% of tweets were negative toward China. Despite the prevalence of anti-China sentiments, the target entity analysis shows that these negative sentiments were more likely to target the Chinese government and CCP than the Chinese people. Our findings also show that the most popular topics were politics (e.g., Hong Kong protests and Taiwan issues), COVID-19, and the United States (e.g., the US-China relations and domestic issues). Anti-China users focused relatively more on political issues such as democracy and freedom, while pro-China users mentioned cultural and economic topics more. Our social network analysis reveals that these pro-China and anti-China Twitter users lacked in-depth engagement in China-related conversations and were highly segregated from each other. We conclude by discussing our contributions to China and social media studies and possible policy implications.

US’ TAIWAN STRATEGY: AN INSTRUMENT TO CONTAIN CHINA

The issue of Taiwan has become a major point of contention between the US and China, with visits by US officials resulting in strong criticism from China and military escalation in the region. Experts are concerned that a conflict between these two powers in the Asia-Pacific region could endanger global peace and stability, especially given the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. China maintains its claim over Taiwan under the 'One China Policy,’ considering it a lost province and advocating for its unification with the mainland. While recognising Taiwan as part of China under this policy, the US engages in diplomatic and military activities with Taiwan, which China considers interference in its internal affairs. In the post-Cold War era, the US adopted an ambiguous policy towards Taiwan as part of its containment strategy against China. Therefore, the US seeks to slow China's perpetual growth by promising enhanced defence for Taiwan. Recent US official visits to Taiwan reflect provocative measures in line with this strategy. This paper analyses the US' Taiwan policy as a containment instrument against China, recent measures adopted by the US administration to provoke China, Taiwan's strategic significance, and the US' long-standing commitment to Taiwan's security as essential for maintaining its leadership role in international affairs. Bibliography Entry Farooq, Muhammad. 2023. "US’ Taiwan Strategy: An Instrument to Contain China." Margalla Papers 27 (1): 96-108.

No Turning Back? Assessing China’s Intent to Use Force to Resolve the Taiwan Issue After 2018

This paper collects and analyzes the speeches of top Chinese leaders on Taiwan, the relevant remarks of Taiwan-related ministries and commissions, and important documents concerning Taiwan. It takes the visit of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan as an example to observe China’s current policy toward Taiwan and its intent to employ force. This paper argues that although the outside world has repeatedly emphasized that “Taiwan is the most dangerous place on earth” and that China will invade Taiwan by force, peaceful unification is still the main axis of its strategy toward Taiwan. Military force is an avenue for China to force unification and prevent international interference in the Taiwan issue. The results of our analysis of Taiwan-related remarks by top Chinese leaders and relevant ministries and commissions are also highly consistent with the political report of the 20th Party Congress, and there are two noteworthy points. First, China has linked “opposing independence” with “opposing interference by external forces” and the principle of “never renouncing the right to use force over Taiwan.” From Beijing’s perspective, the Taiwan issue is no longer one simply involving cross-strait relations but is embedded in China’s domestic national rejuvenation and the strategic competition between itself and the United States. Moreover, Xi Jinping is the most critical factor affecting cross–strait relations. As a strong leader with a historic mission, how Xi regards the Taiwan issue will affect both the destiny of Taiwan and the security of the entire Asia-Pacific region.

A comparison of dementia care and policy in five Asian regions: A literature review

Purpose: This review was comprised of an integrative analysis of the literature on the current state of dementia and related issues in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Methods: Published reports and policy documents from MEDLINE, CINAHL, PubMed, and each government’s database were used in this review. Results: All five Asian regions are projected to become super-aged societies within 12 years, and the number of people with dementia has increased in these regions. All five regions have established dementia policies, which include improving dementia awareness, risk reduction, early diagnosis, and support programs for caregivers. However, there is a lack of information systems for sharing dementia data and research funding for dementia. Conclusion: It is necessary to establish a dementia committee for Asian regions to actively address the challenges posed by the upcoming super-aged societies and to complement the insufficient research. This review provides future directions for dealing with diverse dementia-related issues and can serve as the basis for forming an Asian dementia committee.

The Position and Actions of the People’s Republic of China Regarding the Russian-Ukrainian War

The article reveals the position and actions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war after February 24, 2022. The main leitmotifs of the PRC leadership’s statements on the international arena also look dualistic. On the one hand, the leader of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, attests to the need to stop the war as soon as possible; together with French President F. Macron calls to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and resolve the conflict through negotiations. But on the other hand, Beijing votes in favor of Russia in the UN, and Chinese state media supports Moscow’s position.
 Currently, the Russian-Ukrainian war, which is a global geopolitical conflict, is viewed by China as a “window of opportunity”. Beijing longs to create its own economic macro-region in East Asia, while competing for global leadership with the United States, whose focus is currently more concentrated on the security of Europe as a whole in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine.
 Russia’s aggression against Ukraine caused the general spectrum of the “Taiwan problem” to play with new “colors”. The next aggravation of relations between the US and the PRC regarding the “Taiwan issue” took place in the spring of 2022. However, an open armed confrontation between the US and the PRC regarding the resolution of the “Taiwan issue” currently seems unlikely, and sharp political statements by the leaders of both the PRC and the US is an illustration to both the citizens of their countries and to their allies that they have the situation under control and are ready to use any means necessary to achieve their long-term national interests.
 Suffering losses nowadays as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, China is quite logically advocating an end to this armed confrontation, at the same time, this crisis has opened up certain strategic opportunities for the PRC that Beijing can take advantage of in the long term.

Take a Step Back: A Window Period for Resolving the Taiwan Straits Crisis

In this paper, discussing the possibility of solving the Taiwan issue is a significant task. By adopting defensive realism and estimating the power of America and China, this paper finds their core interest and baseline in the Taiwan region and gives several solutions. China and America have faced a power decline and will concentrate on securing their supreme; the PRC has inflicted an economic recession, and the US has suffered a domestic political crisis combined with the disintegration of the alliance system. This situation thereby remains the space for resolving regional tension by mutual negotiation. Additionally, this paper assesses the baselines of two countries in the Taiwan strait, of which both powers can accept finite compromise. By the previous discussion, the remedy 'Federation' is their best solution.

Anti-interference: redoubled focus of Chinese mainland’s Taiwan policy

International interference in cross-Taiwan Strait relations has accelerated in recent years. This article examines the intensifying, high-level, official interactions in which the US and some of its allies have worked with the Taiwan authorities to hollow out the one-China principle. This article also explores the escalating US–Taiwan military cooperation and the expanding security involvement of some states, which have disregarded Beijing’s heavy opposition and repeated warnings. Finally, this article explains the driving forces behind the internationalization trajectory involving the Taiwan issue and argues that the ever-increasing foreign intervention and involvement, combined with Taipei’s consistent endeavor to “pursue independence by reliance on foreign interference,” has put China on full alert. The internationalization momentum concerning the Taiwan issue has thus resulted in China redoubling the anti-interference focus of its Taiwan policy.

THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA RIVALRY AND ITS IMPACTS ON WASHINGTON AND BEIJING RELATIONS WITH HISTORICAL COMPLEXITY OF TAIWAN

This paper aims to analyze the United States and China rivalry which impacts their relationship with Historical Complexity of Taiwan using the Balance of Threat Theory and qualitative research method. Both the United States and China have different perspectives on the Taiwan issue. China considers that historically Taiwan is part of China. However, the disintegration that Taiwan faces makes some Taiwanese people not feel part of China. This incident was later used by the United States in intervening and expanding its influence in the East Asia region since the 1950s. As a result, the Taiwan area has become a battleground for the United States and China as they compete for regional influence. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) in 1979, provides Washington a legal framework to continue selling weapons to Taiwan. On the other hand, Beijing took the initiative to open a free market with Taipei under the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement (CSSTA) in 2013. This paper suggests that both Beijing and Washington have always refrained from escalating into an open conflict that ended in war. Thus, a future war is unlikely.

A Chinese Notion of Indivisibility of Security?

A Chinese Notion of Indivisibility of Security? Zha Daojiong (bio) and Dong Ting (bio) Is the inclusion of "indivisible security" in Chinese president Xi Jinping's address at the 2022 Boao Forum for Asia a coincidence of timing with Russian military action against Ukraine or a new expression of Chinese thinking on international security? Regarding timing, the speech was made on February 21, three days before Russia initiated what it called a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Also, the vocabulary "indivisible security" is generally associated with Russian perspectives on international affairs. In terms of substance, the following statements are value-loaded: "we humanity are living in an indivisible security community" and "it is important that we … uphold the principle of indivisible security" caught particular international attention (MFA 2022). They seem to be a general set of principles. Answers to this and extended questions are therefore significant for appraising Chinese positions on the ongoing conflict and potentially consequential for predicting China's security actions in the future. American and other Western reactions to the Chinese utterance range from rebuttal by diplomats to calls for dialogue toward the shaping of a common understanding "in a way that prevents it from becoming a pretext for armed conflict" (Freeman and Stephenson 2022). We deem it meaningful to approach the question by reviewing the phrase's usage in the Chinese language, as international projection of security discourses is country-specific. In Xi's speech, the expression is anquan buke fenge (安全不可分割), put forward as a principle (yuanze, 原则). The core elements therein are anquan (security, 安全) and buke fenge (not to be divided or separated in conceptualization, 不可分割). When used for discussing topics pertaining to national security and/or international affairs, buke fenge can be translated into English as "inalienable," "inseparable" or "indivisible." It is useful and [End Page 323] even necessary to appraise intended meaning and/or nuance in Chinese in contexts. Buke Fenge as Inalienable Since the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) on October 1, 1949, the PRC has steadfastly and unfailingly used buke fenge to refer to its definition of the country's territory and the eventual unification of China as a nation. The appropriate corresponding translation in English is "inalienable." The expression consistently refers to Taiwan: its population and land territories under its control and adjacent territorial waters. That Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and/or China's territory forms the core of what the PRC defines as its One China principle. As is familiar to scholars of contemporary China, when used to qualify the Chinese government's insistence on the territorial scope or sovereign rights, buke fenge also refers to Tibet and Xinjiang, when incidents of instability in those parts of the country occur. In other words, the expression is indigenous. It amounts to a frontal rejection of the notion of "China proper," a term associated with discussing the territorial scope of Chinese empires before its boundaries are established in the modern nation-state system. So much so that the PRC insists that the "Taiwan Question" is domestic by nature; only that the PRC has to live with a One China policy, as is typified by the United States decision, made in 1979, to recognize the PRC as a sovereign entity in the United Nations system but simultaneously to handle its ties with Taiwan through domestic legislations ever since. In this connection, it is useful to note that buke fenge is seldom, if ever, used to describe the PRC's positions or justify actions over the territorial status of the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands in the East China Sea or land features in the South China Sea. It is true that the PRC has claimed land features in the East China Sea as part of China since ancient times. Over land and waters in the South China Sea, it is more common for Chinese positions to be expressed as having historical rights. China does not subscribe to the notion of those islands and undersea features as terra nullius, nor does it define them as inalienable. In other words, the absence of buke fenge can be understood as a recognition of the disputed nature of sovereignty claims...

Management Strategies for Geriatric Maxillofacial Fractures

Geriatric maxillofacial trauma has become an increasingly pressing clinical issue in Taiwan because of increased life expectancy. The purposes of this study were to investigate the anthropometric changes and the posttrauma outcomes in the aging population and to optimize the management strategies for geriatric facial fractures. From 2015 to 2020, a total of 30 patients 65 years or older were identified to have suffered from maxillofacial fractures and presented at the emergency department of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH). These patients were categorized into group III, representing the elderly group. Two other groups (group I, age 18-40 years; group II, age 41-64 years) of patients were categorized based on their age. After applying propensity score matching to reduce bias caused by a large case number difference, patient demographics, anthropometric data, and management methods were compared and analyzed. Among 30 patients 65 years or older who met the inclusion criteria, the mean age of the matched group III was 77.31 ± 14.87 years, and the mean number of retained teeth was 11.77 (range, 3-20 teeth). The elderly patients had a significantly lower number of retained teeth (group I vs group II vs group III, 27.3 vs 25.23 vs 11.77; P < 0.001). Anthropometric data showed that facial bone structure degenerated significantly with advancing age. Outcome analysis demonstrated that falls accounted for 43.3% of injury mechanisms in the elderly group, followed by motorcycle accidents (30%) and car accidents (23.3%). Nineteen elderly patients (63%) received nonsurgical management. On the other hand, 86.7% of cases in the other 2 age groups underwent surgery. The average numbers of total hospital and intensive care unit stays in group III patients were 16.9 (range, 3-49 days) and 4.57 (range, 0-47 days), which was significantly longer than the other 2 age groups. Our results suggested that not only surgery is feasible for elderly patients with facial fractures, but an acceptable result is often obtainable. However, an eventful course, including extended hospital/intensive care unit stays and an increased risk of associated injuries and complications, may be expected.

Taiwan and Japan's Security: An Anatomy of Japanese Approaches to the Taiwan Issue

Taiwan and Japan's Security: An Anatomy of Japanese Approaches to the Taiwan Issue

Taiwan and Japan's Security: An Anatomy of Japanese Approaches to the Taiwan Issue

Taiwan and Japan's Security: An Anatomy of Japanese Approaches to the Taiwan Issue

Analysis of the Translation Problems of Words with Chinese Characteristics: Taking Chinese-English Translation as an Example

As a bridge and linkage of external communication, translation undertakes an important task for international communication. With the enhancement of China's soft power, the diffusion of culture has become increasingly important. That makes translation an essential stage. However, in the process of translation, many mistranslations cause the international community to misunderstand the original meaning and even misinterpret its culture. Starting from real situations and texts in Chinese to English translation, this study focuses on the problems of three phrases: “Taiwan question”, “The Communist Party of China”, and “People's democratic dictatorship” in Chinese to English translation by case analysis. As supplementary data, the researchers also conducted interviews with a Ph.D. in political science. It found that the problems may be created by the English meaning of the words, China's history and culture, and the translator's comprehension of the original language. Some suggestions for improving translation quality were also put forward from the perspectives of the country, the translation industry, and individuals.

Characteristic Analysis of Four Major Nighttime Fire Cases on Fire Safety of Long-Term Care Institutions Using Fire Protection Defense-In-Depth Strategy

Providing high-quality care services and fire safety for long-term care institutions is an important issue in Taiwan, which became an aging society in 2018. The fire incidents in Taiwan over the years show that nighttime fires in care institutions often cause serious casualties. It is necessary not only to understand the causes of serious nighttime fire incidents that have occurred but also to draw lessons from the fires that have been put out without causing injuries. In this study, the top two serious nighttime fire accidents in long-term care institutions in the past two decades in Taiwan were analyzed based on the publicly official and academic literature utilizing fire protection defense-in-depth strategies. For comparison, two other nighttime fire cases with similar scenarios but no casualties were also analyzed in depth about the cause of no casualties. The buildings of the four nighttime fires were equipped with fire protection equipment in their public areas. The theoretical basis of the research is the fire protection defense-in-depth strategy. In both categories of severe casualties and no severe casualties, one was caused by arson and the other one by an electrical fire, with the ignition point of a fire in the storeroom and the other in the ward. However, the end results were quite different. The analyzed results showed that the severe fires lasted for about an hour, while the fires without casualties were put out within 15 min. A well-constructed second layer of defense measures could effectively contain a fire, and an effective third layer of measures could avoid casualties. The death rate of personnel can be reduced from a dozen to zero, and the burning time is also greatly reduced. The results could be used as a reference for emergency measures in long-term care institutions.

The trouble with Taiwan

ABSTRACT What is arguably the most important bilateral relationship in the world teeters on the brink of catastrophe as the Taiwan issue threatens to precipitate a war between the two nuclear-armed superpowers of China and the United States. Beijing demonstrated its determination to pursue unification with Taiwan during August 2022 by shooting ballistic missiles over the island. Meanwhile, the Ukraine War has increased Washington’s resolve to confront perceived Chinese aggression. There are many dimensions to the unfolding crisis over Taiwan’s future status—and the wisest US policy is one of realism and restraint in order to avert a disaster of global proportions.