Taiwan and China: Implications for the World

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. 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?

Following the recent inaugural speech by the new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, this timely discussion dived into current tensions around the Taiwan Strait with the threat of invasion by China and the impact on the global economy.

Dr Ryo Sahashi, The University of Tokyo, gave insights into the position of Japan and the United States in Taiwan, and the uncertainty that the upcoming US election poses. He explored the stability of the situation in the coming months and longer-term and emphasised the importance of Europe in paying attention to the situation. Charlie Parton, former diplomat, highlighted the conditions for an invasion of Taiwan by China, stating, however, that the economic disruption it would cause makes this unlikely in the next 10 years. Yet, in the absence of an invasion, we will likely see continued threats from China, efforts to undermine the DPP, cyber-attacks and increased military activity, among other things. In the ensuing discussion, Cindy Yu, Assistant Editor at The Spectator, raised questions such as of the possibility of an accidental escalation, and dug deeper into how other countries, particularly Europe, can get involved, as earlier raised by Dr Sahashi.

For more information about this event please visit our website:

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates on our upcoming events:
--------------------------------------------

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:13 Opening by Jason James
00:01:15 Introduction by Cindy Yu
00:02:55 Presentation by Dr Ryo Sahashi
00:25:23 Presentation by Charlie Parton OBE
00:46:18 Q&A