Taiwan Inauguration Preview - Interview with Brian Hioe

May 20th, 2024 marks the inauguration of the 16th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China, Taiwan.

In the January election, Lai Ching-te (賴清德), also known as William Lai, of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and his vice-presidential running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) won the popular vote. Their appointment to the presidential office means a third consecutive term for the DPP as Lai's predecessor, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taiwan's first female president, concludes her two terms in office.

This is a delicate time for Taiwan-China relations as Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping has explicitly made taking Taiwan by force if necessary, part of his plans to "rejuvenate" China. However, the Taiwanese people are less interested than ever in unifying with the mainland.

In this episode, I'm delighted to welcome Brian Hioe (丘琦欣) back to the podcast. Brian (@brianhioe) is one of the founding editors of New Bloom Magazine and a non-resident Fellow at the University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies program. I caught up with him in Taipei to talk about the upcoming inauguration, China's increasing gray zone tactics and over-reach, the role of the China-friendly KMT party in the new administration and much more.

Date of Recording: May 15th, 2024.




President elect Lai Ching-te and Vice President elect Hsiao Bi-khim hold hands in victory to the backdrop of the presidential office in Taipei
Taiwan Inauguration Preview



DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • New Bloom Magazine (link)

EU Election 2024 - Interview with Billy Kelleher (FF)

European Parliament elections take place across the EU in early June. These will be the tenth direct parliamentary elections since 1979. About 400 million voters are eligible to vote across 27 EU member states. At stake is the make-up of the next European Parliament, the direct link between Europeans and the EU's institutions and it will shape the direction of the EU over the next 5 years on issues like climate, migration, trade and defense.

Ireland is entitled to elect 14 representatives or MEPs across 3 constituencies (see below) to the 720 seat parliament. 

  • Dublin (4 seats)
  • Midlands-North-West (5 seats)
  • South (5 seats)

MEPs generally sit in political groups ranging from left to right, rather than by nationality.

My guest in this episode is Billy Kelleher (@BillyKelleherEU) of Fianna Fail who is up for re-election as an Ireland South MEP and member of the Renew Group. We discuss a range of topics including the future direction of the EU and the influence of the far right, security and trade risks posed by China, and whether Ireland is out of step with the EU on adoption of policy tools and a physical trade presence in Taiwan.

Date of Recording: May 5th, 2024.



Picture of Billy Kelleher of Fianna Fail, the 3 Ireland Constituencies for EU Elections and a Ballot Box with the EU Flag in the background
EU Election 2024 - Interview with Billy Kelleher, Fianna Fail


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information on the topics covered in this episode:

  • 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland - wiki


Note: In the interests of fairness, Perspectives with Neilo reached out to Ireland South electoral candidates from all the main groupings in the European Parliament. We are happy to publish interviews with all those who agreed to participate.

Image Credit: By Spleodrach - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78963601

Ireland's Knowledge Deficit on China

 In mid-January, China's Premier Li Qiang paid a two-day state visit to Ireland meeting with President Michael D. Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and while Irish officials were keen to emphasize the 45th anniversary of Ireland-China diplomatic relations, little was said publicly about China's human rights abuses and ongoing aggression in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. And although Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin previously echoed support for the EU's decision to de-risk trade with China, the top message from the Irish government would appear to be that the economy takes precedence and that Ireland remains committed to free global trade.

Trade between Ireland and China has increased significantly in recent years, to about €40 Billion in two-way goods and services. There are more than 40 Chinese companies in Ireland concentrated mainly in IT, finance and aviation leasing and Ireland has established more than 500 foreign-invested enterprises in China.

The increasing focus on trade supported by pro-PRC business groups and coupled with a deficit of independent China expertise has raised concerns among analysts and academics about the dangers this poses to Ireland's values and interests.

My guest in this episode of Perspectives with Neilo is Alexander Dukalskis (@AlexDukalskis), Associate Professor in the School of Politics and International Relations at University College Dublin (UCD) and Director of the UCD Centre for Asia-Pacific Research. I sat down with him recently to discuss the takeaways from Li Qiang's visit, how Ireland is strategically equipped to engage with China, and the apparent lack of China competency when it comes to dealing with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Date of Recording: February 7th, 2024



Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang meet in Dublin on January 17th, 2024
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Chinese Premier Li Qiang meet in Dublin on January 17th


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information and references on the topics covered in this episode:



Visit Taiwan !

Welcome back to Perspectives with Neilo.

Many of our recent episodes have been about Taiwan and as it's the time of year when many of us think about our travel plans, we decided to visit the Holiday World Show which took place at the RDS in Dublin recently to find out more about traveling to Taiwan.

Taiwan is an amazing gateway to Asia, whether you want to take an exciting vacation or spend some time learning Mandarin Chinese. In this episode we speak with Taiwan's Ambassador to Ireland, His Excellency Pierre Yang as well as the Director of the Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning in Ireland, Evan Furlong.

We've included lots of links and information about traveling to Taiwan and the various topics discussed in the Dive Deeper section below.

Date of Recording: January 26th, 2024.




Views of different sights around Taiwan from Sun Moon Lake to Taipei 101 skyscraper to Luye baloon festival to Liberty Square in Taipei
Top Left Clockwise: Sun Moon Lake, Liberty Square Archway (Taipei), Luye Visitor Center, Taipei 101 (from Mirimar Entertainment Park)


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information and references on the topics covered in this episode. Services and products listed are for information purposes only.

  • Flights
  • Photo Credit: Photos courtesy of the Tourism Administration, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, ROC.

  • Taiwan Center for Mandarin Learning in Ireland - link



Thanks to Evan Furlong for the beautiful inscription!

Taiwan Election 2024 - Results

 On Saturday January 13th, Taiwan went to the polls to vote in their 8th direct presidential election, an election that received unprecedented international attention and has been called the most consequential election in the country's history. While the presidential election grabbed the spotlight, citizens also voted in the legislature elections.

In this Perspectives with Neilo Taiwan 2024 Election Results Special, we present a short update on the election outcome, the acceptance speech of the winning presidential candidate as well as a sample of the international reaction.

Date of Recording: January 13th, 2024



Winning Democratic Progressive Party candidates Lai Ching-te and (VP candidate) Hsiao Bi-khim raise their arms in victory in front of a crowd of their supporters
Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim of the DPP win Taiwan's 2024 Presidential Race


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information and references on the topics covered in this episode:

Beijing Rules - Interview with Bethany Allen

In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, I'm chatting with Bethany Allen, award-winning China reporter for Axios and author of the book Beijing Rules - China's Quest for Global Influence.

I met up with Bethany in Taipei last November to talk about some of the many important topics covered in her book including; how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) exerts control over Chinese companies, as well as the CCP's propaganda reach and online disinformation operations. We also discussed how China ties market access to political acquiescence, her reaction to statements by Irish politicians on China and much more.

Date of Recording: November 21st, 2023



Map of China in red with cluster of stars on the left hand side is behind a dense network of nodes and interconnects symbolizing the reach of the Chinese government


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information and references on the topics covered in this episode:

  • Mick Wallace Tweet on China (January 1st, 2024)
Tweet from MEP Mick Wallace on China from January 1st, 2024

Safeguarding Taiwan's Democracy from China's Disinformation Deluge

 With Taiwan's presidential election taking place in early January, the island's future relation with the neighboring People's Republic of China (PRC) occupies pole position on the ballot.

The PRC who claim Taiwan as their sovereign territory despite having never occupied or controlled it, have historically launched extensive disinformation campaigns to dissuade voters from supporting the ruling pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

According to a 2022 report by the Digital Society Project, part of the Swedish institute Varieties of Democracy, Taiwan has ranked as the biggest target for foreign disinformation in the world for the last decade. Taiwanese politicians and researchers say the majority of those attacks originate from China.

In recent months, Beijing has been amping up its campaign of intimidation, disinformation and cyber attacks sending ever-increasing numbers of fighter jets into Taiwan's air defense identification zone, as well as exploiting Taiwan's free speech and open internet to manipulate politics and influence public opinion. Among their more popular disinformation tactics are inciting fear of a possible war of invasion and sowing skepticism about the sincerity of the support from Taiwan's allies, most notably the United States.

Disinformation actors also use current international events, such as the ongoing war in Gaza, to remind audiences of the dire consequences of war, sending the message that avoiding war with China is the best option for Taiwan. Beijing aims to convince Taiwanese people that unification is inevitable and irresistible, while balancing its deployment of coercive measures with incentive-driven approaches. 

Thankfully, there are a number of expert organizations in Taiwan that work full-time to investigate and debunk disinformation. One of those is the Taiwan Fact Check Center (@taiwantfc). According to their website, they are a non-profit NGO established by the Association for Quality Journalism and Taiwan Media Watch Foundation. Their mission is to fact-check claims related to public interest issues to promote reliable information, digital literacy, and to make Taiwan a better and stronger democratic society.

We met up recently with their CEO, Eve Chiu (邱家宜) to talk about the organization, examples of their debunking work, China's wumao disinformation army (五毛黨) and much more.


Date of Recording: November 16th, 2023.



Disinformation visualized by a flow of 1's and 0's from a hidden faced character in a hoodie with a CCP government crest in front of his face
Main image courtesy of Pixabay and Taiwan News (see link below)


DIVE DEEPER:

Additional information and references on the topics covered in this episode:

  • Seeing is not believing - deepfakes and cheap fakes spread during the 2024 Taiwan presidential election - Wei-Ping Li, Ph.D., Taiwan Fact Check Center (December 25th, 2023)
  • Additional Fact Check Organizations in Taiwan
  • Shadow Play [pdf download] - Jacinta Keast, Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2023) - see graph below
  • Wumao - 50 Cent Party - wiki

  • Title graphic image courtesy of Pixabay and Taiwan News


Graph of YouTube China propaganda video posting versus China Standard time
From Shadow Play by Jacinta Keast, ASPI, 2023 (see link above)

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