Safe Spaces Publication

In her victory speech on Sunday after her party won its largest post-World War II parliamentary majority, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi reiterated her ruling coalition’s determination to tackle up front economic issues, and enhance national security and defense policy. As soon as news broke that Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had won a supermajority, President William Lai (賴清德) and former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) congratulated her online. Both have exp

Under President Lai Ching-te, Taiwan may have paused its diplomatic freefall, but survival, not success, will shape the future of Taiwan's diplomacy. As China intensifies pressure across Latin America through economic persuasion and media influence, Taiwan's allies are increasingly vulnerable to diplomatic switches. Paraguay’s wavering stance, for example, demonstrates the cost of neglecting opposition outreach. Paraguay has been Taiwan's longest-standing ally in South Americ

For a nation on the precipice of an open conflict with China, Taiwan is badly unprepared to keep its democratic processes intact in a military scenario. Taiwan’s archaic voting infrastructure is one major aspect that leaves the island vulnerable if a contingency plays out. Since 1994, the people of Taiwan have elected their president by direct popular vote, and the nation has received full marks for Electoral Process from Freedom House’s 2025 Global Freedom Score. The exerci

Ja panese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Monday announced that she would dissolve parliament on Friday. Although the snap election on Feb. 8 might appear to be a domestic affair, it would have real implications for Taiwan and regional security. Whether the Takaichi-led coalition can advance a stronger security policy lies in not just gaining enough seats in parliament to pass legislation, but also in a public mandate to push forward reforms to upgrade the Japanese military.

Global headlines have been dominated by the US kidnapping of deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro on Saturday. While debates continue regarding its compliance under international law, it is worth taking a closer look at the motive behind the operation and what it means for Taiwan. Parallels have been drawn with 1989’s Operation Just Cause, in which then-US president George H.W. Bush ordered the capture of then-Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega. One reason Bush cited for

China’s attempts to hold its tourists hostage have yet again failed, Japan being a case in point. Taiwan is familiar with this bullying tactic: In hindsight, hysterical outbursts from Beijing helped Taiwan to control the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. The region is no stranger to Chinese bans on tourism. In an attempt to punish and sabotage Seoul for allowing Washington to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile system, China banned group tours to South Korea in 20

As Japan faces unprecedented harassment from China following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Nov. 7 remarks on potentially using its military to defend itself in a Chinese attack on Taiwan, it is evident that countries in the region must boost coordination in countering Chinese hegemony. In addition to disinformation campaigns attacking Takaichi, false claims against Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa and economic coercion, Beijing on Saturday ramped up its intimidati

Apart from the first arms sales approval for Taiwan since US President Donald Trump took office, last month also witnessed another milestone for Taiwan-US relations. Trump signed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law on Tuesday. Its passing without objection in the US Senate underscores how bipartisan US support for Taiwan has evolved. The new law would further help normalize exchanges between Taiwanese and US government officials. We have already seen a flurry of

China’s increasing economic footprint in Brazil, Latin America's largest economy, is redefining the region’s balance of power. Once primarily a trading partner, China is now entrenching itself in the Brazilian industrial base and consumer economy, turning the South American colossus into a gateway for Chinese influence across the continent. This shift not only represents an ongoing trend in the Americas but also challenges Washington’s traditional sphere of influence while ca

Following China’s “wolf warrior” attack on Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with Chinese Consul General in Osaka Xue Jian (薛劍) threatening on social media to chop her head off, Beijing has doubled down through intimidation and coercion. In addition to sending drones into Japan’s southwestern waters near Taiwan, China has employed its favorite tool: holding its tourists hostage by officially discouraging travel to Japan, all to attack Takaichi’s response in parliament t