https://www.scmp.com/rss/287961/feed Gary Sands is a senior analyst at Wikistrat, a crowdsourced consultancy, and a director at Highway West Capital advisers. A former diplomat with the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation, he is now based in Taipei. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com During his recent trip to Asia, US President Joe Biden caused quite an international stir when he answered, “yes” and “that’s the commitment we made” to the question, “Are you willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan if it comes to that?” As expected, China expressed its “strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition”. Others considered Biden’s comment another off-the-cuff gaffe, while many believe it shows “rock solid” support for Taiwan, with one commentator calling it “one of the most... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181138/just-how-rock-solid-bidens-support-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3181138/just-how-rock-solid-bidens-support-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Jun 2022 17:30:21 +0000 JPMorgan Chase became the latest major corporation to kowtow to Beijing’s “namefare” campaign over Taiwan, instructing some of its employees to refer to “Taiwan, China” instead of referring to self-governed Taiwan as a separate country. In a recent email from Stuart Marston, a supervisory analyst global manager for the mega bank, certain employees were instructed to refrain from referring to Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as separate countries, according to Bloomberg News. JPMorgan Chase is not the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3029807/jpmorgan-may-be-slippery-slope-over-taiwan-name-game?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3029807/jpmorgan-may-be-slippery-slope-over-taiwan-name-game?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Sep 2019 09:35:49 +0000 Since its unveiling in 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s US$1 trillion global infrastructure Belt and Road Initiative has struggled to deflect mounting criticism over its lack of transparency, fuelling of corruption, wasteful spending, over-reliance on Chinese contractors and poor quality standards. More recent criticism has focused on allegations of “debt-trap diplomacy”, of using the initiative to load debt on to poor countries which then struggle to repay, ultimately forcing them to hand... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013878/how-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-could-lead-vietnam-away?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3013878/how-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative-could-lead-vietnam-away?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2019 08:00:18 +0000 In an effort to discourage other nations from cutting ties with Taiwan, US Senators Cory Gardner, Ed Markey, Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez introduced new legislation last week, the cleverly titled Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act. If passed, the Taipei Act would end or diminish foreign assistance to countries that abandon Taiwan. Washington’s response comes on the heels of Taipei losing yet another ally to Beijing: El Salvador, which became the third nation... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164009/even-us-help-taiwan-fighting-losing-battle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2164009/even-us-help-taiwan-fighting-losing-battle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Sep 2018 05:00:15 +0000 After the big drop in the Shanghai and Shenzhen indexes earlier this month, many China analysts called into question the Communist Party's ability to control not only its stock markets, but also other policymaking. The party's ill-fated attempts to stem the decline have included freezing activity on almost half of the companies traded on the markets, banning all new listings, state-backed buying of shares, suspending large mainland trading accounts, and threatening to arrest short sellers. Then,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1851475/chinese-leaders-still-have-firm-grip-policy-despite-stock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1851475/chinese-leaders-still-have-firm-grip-policy-despite-stock?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Aug 2015 02:02:22 +0000 President Xi Jinping's restrictions on the operations of foreign organisations in China are continuing, as Beijing prepares new regulations prohibiting foreign non-governmental organisations from activities that violate "Chinese society's moral customs". Rights activists fear the new measures will seriously curb their activities and drive many NGOs out of the country. The new draft regulations are the latest in a series of restrictions aimed at the operations of foreign companies, including... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1736852/crackdown-foreign-ngos-not-chinas-own-interests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1736852/crackdown-foreign-ngos-not-chinas-own-interests?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 16:18:58 +0000 In an ongoing crackdown on corruption, the Ministry of Public Security recently announced a policy to encourage reporting on "dual citizens" - people who obtain citizenship in another country yet still maintain their Chinese citizenship and benefits. The "fox hunt" campaign, announced in July, seeks to catch corrupt officials who have fled overseas with their illicit assets. As part of the crackdown, the ministry is using a tactic once employed during the Cultural Revolution - asking the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1593940/chinas-corrupt-officials-must-be-denied-overseas-haven?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/article/1593940/chinas-corrupt-officials-must-be-denied-overseas-haven?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Sep 2014 10:00:30 +0000 The results of the most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) again reveal Shanghai's 15-year-old students as the smartest in the world in reading, maths and science, coming out ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore. The results of the assessment, run by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, seem to confirm the widely held notion that Asian students excel in maths and sciences due to the region's commitment to education and the number of hours... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1385217/are-chinese-students-smarter-or-testing-system-rigged-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1385217/are-chinese-students-smarter-or-testing-system-rigged-their?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Dec 2013 13:00:15 +0000 Long viewed as a "client state" of China, Myanmar's precious resources have for years been auctioned off to the hungry dragon next door. Indeed, China was Myanmar's only significant dance partner, following the trade sanctions imposed on Western firms in response to human rights abuses by Myanmar's junta. With the country's recent transition from military rule to democracy, the country is now attracting new dance partners from the US and Europe. Today, the government finds it can afford to be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1292630/ethics-added-portfolio-chinese-overseas-investments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1292630/ethics-added-portfolio-chinese-overseas-investments?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The arrest and eventual repatriation of some 200 Chinese nationals working as illegal gold miners in Ghana has led many people to again question the benefits of China's involvement on the African continent. Many of the illegal gold miners come from Guangxi's Shanglin county. Some estimates say as many as 12,000 people from there may have engaged in gold mining in Ghana since 2006. While Chinese investment in Africa is often associated with the efforts of large state-owned companies which tap the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1278898/china-must-stem-tide-migrants-who-flout-law-africa?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1278898/china-must-stem-tide-migrants-who-flout-law-africa?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2013 16:00:00 +0000 The once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China last month left some analysts fearing for the cause of reform after key reformers Li Yuanchao, Wang Yang and Liu Yandong failed to reach the Politburo Standing Committee, China's highest leadership body. Yet this week, Xi Jinping , who succeeded Hu Jintao as Communist Party general secretary, seemed to hold out promise for reform. In his first trip since taking over, Xi spent five days in Guangdong province, drawing parallels to the "southern... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1105503/xi-gives-reform-advocates-cause-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1105503/xi-gives-reform-advocates-cause-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Dec 2012 16:00:00 +0000