Taiwan and China: Implications for the World
- 21 May 2024
- 12:00 – 1:30pm
- Online
- https://dajf.org.uk/event/taiwan-and-china-implications-for-the-world
- +44 (0)20 7486 4348
- events@dajf.org.uk
- Tweet
Recently, Taipei condemned China as “shameless” after Beijing thanked the world for its concern about a powerful earthquake in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government also rebuffed an offer of help extended by Beijing. China continues to claim Taiwan as its territory. To Taipei, Beijing’s communist government has never ruled the island and has no say in how it chooses its leaders.
Since 1972, Japan has officially considered the People’s Republic of China (PRC), i.e. the government in Beijing, to be the sole government of China, and there are no formal diplomatic relations between Taipei and Tokyo. Japan does however try to keep good non-governmental and working-level relations with Taiwan. In 2021, the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister made a high-profile statement, saying that Japan pledges to help defend Taiwan if China attacks. Has there been a fundamental change in Japanese policy?
The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait are of great significance to Northeast Asia and the world at large. The temporary stability in US-China relations that has resulted from last autumn’s Biden-Xi summit, coupled with the high cost of military conflict for China and the wait-and-see attitude typical before the US presidential elections, suggest that an immediate crisis is not anticipated.
It does not seem that the recent election of a new President and government in Taiwan make war more likely either. Nevertheless, tensions around the Taiwan Straits might increase. The PRC might continue a ‘war without fighting’, for instance by ratcheting up measures against Taiwanese companies and individuals, and also attempting to put more pressure on foreign countries and companies.
In the medium to long term, the world had better be prepared to respond to attempts to alter the situation by various means, including economic sanctions, political manoeuvres, diplomatic pressure and even military confrontation. How should the alliance between the US and Asian countries, along with European nations, support Taiwan, their fellow democracy?
About the contributors
Dr Ryo Sahashi
Dr Ryo Sahashi is Associate Professor of International Relations, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, specializing on international politics in East Asia. He sits on government panels including Council on the Actual State of Land Use and Advisory Panel on Science & Technology Diplomacy. He also works as Research Fellow of Japan Center for International Exchange and Visiting Fellow of 21st Century Policy Institute, Keidanren. He has been Visiting Associate Professor at Stanford University, Japan Scholar at the Wilson Center, Visiting Fellow at Georgetown University and Seoul National University. Dr. Sahashi received his B.A. from International Christian University and his Ph.D. from the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo. His books include US-China Rivalry: A Shift of American Strategy and Divided Worlds (Tokyo: Chuko, 2021), In a Search for Coexistence: the United States and Two Chinas during the Cold War (Tokyo: Keiso, 2015).
Charlie Parton
Charlie Parton spent 22 years of his 37 year diplomatic career working in or on China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In his final posting he was First Counsellor in the EU delegation in Beijing until late 2016. His focus is on Chinese politics and internal developments, and how those might affect UK interests. In 2017 he set up his own consultancy, China Ink, and was chosen as the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Special Adviser on China. He is an associate fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, the Royal United Services Institute, and at MERICS.
Cindy Yu (moderator)
Cindy Yu is Assistant Editor (Broadcast) at The Spectator, a British current affairs and arts magazine, where she also hosts the magazine’s Chinese Whispers podcast. The podcast is a deep dive into all the intriguing themes of Chinese politics, society and history that often go under the radar of mainstream China reporting. She was born in Nanjing, China. She read politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford, where she also read for a master of science in contemporary Chinese studies. She has written extensively for The Spectator, Foreign Policy, and the Daily Telegraph, with recent pieces looking at the country’s thaw in relations with the US, the adaptation of Chinese sci-fi for western screens, and the Taiwanese election. She is a frequent commentator on China issues for the BBC, TalkTV, RTE News, Channel 4 and GB News.
Book your place
Since 1972, Japan has officially considered the People’s Republic of China (PRC), i.e. the government in Beijing, to be the sole government of China, and there are no formal diplomatic relations between Taipei and Tokyo. Japan does however try to keep good non-governmental and working-level relations with Taiwan. In 2021, the Japanese Deputy Prime Minister made a high-profile statement, saying that Japan pledges to help defend Taiwan if China attacks. Has there been a fundamental change in Japanese policy?
The peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait are of great significance to Northeast Asia and the world at large. The temporary stability in US-China relations that has resulted from last autumn’s Biden-Xi summit, coupled with the high cost of military conflict for China and the wait-and-see attitude typical before the US presidential elections, suggest that an immediate crisis is not anticipated.
It does not seem that the recent election of a new President and government in Taiwan make war more likely either. Nevertheless, tensions around the Taiwan Straits might increase. The PRC might continue a ‘war without fighting’, for instance by ratcheting up measures against Taiwanese companies and individuals, and also attempting to put more pressure on foreign countries and companies.
In the medium to long term, the world had better be prepared to respond to attempts to alter the situation by various means, including economic sanctions, political manoeuvres, diplomatic pressure and even military confrontation. How should the alliance between the US and Asian countries, along with European nations, support Taiwan, their fellow democracy?
About the contributors
Dr Ryo Sahashi
Dr Ryo Sahashi is Associate Professor of International Relations, Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia, The University of Tokyo, specializing on international politics in East Asia. He sits on government panels including Council on the Actual State of Land Use and Advisory Panel on Science & Technology Diplomacy. He also works as Research Fellow of Japan Center for International Exchange and Visiting Fellow of 21st Century Policy Institute, Keidanren. He has been Visiting Associate Professor at Stanford University, Japan Scholar at the Wilson Center, Visiting Fellow at Georgetown University and Seoul National University. Dr. Sahashi received his B.A. from International Christian University and his Ph.D. from the Graduate Schools for Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo. His books include US-China Rivalry: A Shift of American Strategy and Divided Worlds (Tokyo: Chuko, 2021), In a Search for Coexistence: the United States and Two Chinas during the Cold War (Tokyo: Keiso, 2015).
Charlie Parton
Charlie Parton spent 22 years of his 37 year diplomatic career working in or on China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In his final posting he was First Counsellor in the EU delegation in Beijing until late 2016. His focus is on Chinese politics and internal developments, and how those might affect UK interests. In 2017 he set up his own consultancy, China Ink, and was chosen as the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee Special Adviser on China. He is an associate fellow at the Council on Geostrategy, the Royal United Services Institute, and at MERICS.
Cindy Yu (moderator)
Cindy Yu is Assistant Editor (Broadcast) at The Spectator, a British current affairs and arts magazine, where she also hosts the magazine’s Chinese Whispers podcast. The podcast is a deep dive into all the intriguing themes of Chinese politics, society and history that often go under the radar of mainstream China reporting. She was born in Nanjing, China. She read politics, philosophy, and economics at the University of Oxford, where she also read for a master of science in contemporary Chinese studies. She has written extensively for The Spectator, Foreign Policy, and the Daily Telegraph, with recent pieces looking at the country’s thaw in relations with the US, the adaptation of Chinese sci-fi for western screens, and the Taiwanese election. She is a frequent commentator on China issues for the BBC, TalkTV, RTE News, Channel 4 and GB News.
Book your place
