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During his call with President Donald Trump of the United States, Chinese President Xi Jinping accused Taiwan independence separatists for heightening tensions in U.S.-China relations, suggesting that Taiwan will become a key focus in the next round of trade negotiations.

Xi's New Statement on Taiwan Draws Red Line for U.S.-China Relations

 

President Donald Trump of the United States had repeatedly extended invitations, and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally took the call. The key lies in this sentence from Xinhua News Agency’s official press release: “Avoid letting a minimal number of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists drag China and the United States into a dangerous situation of confrontation.” This marks a rare instance of Beijing airing its grievances on the Taiwan issue to a foreign power. While Mr. Trump did not respond directly, both sides are about to enter substantive trade negotiations and have agreed to promote mutual leadership visits. With that, the Taiwan issue has formally entered the U.S.-China negotiation table—something the government must not ignore.

Judicial neutrality and absentee voting are two major takeaways for Taiwan from South Korea's presidential election.

Two Lessons South Korean Election Teaches Taiwan

 

DPP Manipulates "Transitional Justice," Provokes Public Backlash

 

​The Ministry of the Interior’s plan to rename all “Zhongzheng roads” (which refer to the late President Chiang Kai-shek) has met strong resistance from local governments, citing it as wasteful and burdensome. More than 70 percent of the public also do not support the initiative. Unexpectedly, Minister Liu Shih-fang invoked the “Act on Promoting Transitional Justice,” insisting that removing authoritarian symbols is the government’s duty and must be implemented. Her stance reveals three major blind spots. First, she seems to regard the transitional justice act as an unlimited buffet pass for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Second, she is blind to public opinion. Third, while the administration of President Lai Ching-te has already begun emulating authoritarian rule, she still dares to speak of transitional justice.

Personnel changes at the Taiwan Affairs Office of mainland China's State Council indicate that the diplomatic system has fully taken over its operations, highlighting the strategic nature of U.S.-China rivalry.

May 31:

In late May, the Executive Yuan issued a directive to various ministries and local governments, prohibiting military personnel, civil servants, and educators from applying for or holding a mainland Chinese residence permit. The opposition questioned the move, arguing that active military and civil servants do not even meet the eligibility criteria for such permits, suggesting that the government is merely trying to divert attention from the controversy surrounding aides suspected of working as mainland spies.

 

May 31: 

At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned that China's military threat to Taiwan is real and imminent, stating that if Communist China attempts to seize Taiwan by force, it will face "devastating consequences." However, he also emphasized that with President Donald Trump closely monitoring the situation, China would not invade Taiwan. His remarks were interpreted as his strongest stance on Taiwan to date.

 

June 2: 

Following accusations against Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi of the Control Yuan for using an official vehicle to transport his pet for grooming, multiple Control Yuan members were found to have misused official vehicles, escalating the controversy. Vice President Lee Hung-chun of the Control Yuan held a press conference to publicly apologize and announce that implicated members would be referred to the disciplinary committee. Secretary-General Lee's resignation was accepted. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has opened a case to investigate whether corruption charges are involved.

 

June 2: 

After recent personnel adjustments at the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) of mainland China's State Council, all senior officials now come from the diplomatic system, with none originating from the "Taiwan Affairs system," an unprecedented shift. A similar phenomenon has occurred at the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office. According to Hong Kong media outlet Sing Tao Daily, while Taiwan is officially considered China's "internal affairs," its essence remains a strategic contest between China and the United States.

 

June 4:

Local governments protested against the Executive Yuan's decision to cut general subsidies and petitioned the central government. During a legislative inquiry, Comptroller Chen Shu-tzu of the Executive Yuan stated that the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) had proposed three budget adjustment plans, and Premier Cho Jung-tai ultimately chose to slash local subsidies without prior consultation with local governments. She admitted that such cuts had never been made before.

 

June 5:

The New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) experienced "violent appreciation" against the U.S. dollar in May. The Central Bank discovered that several foreign investors were exploiting exchange rate differences under the guise of investing in Taiwan stocks and has ordered them to remit their funds out of Taiwan. The Central Bank stated that the exchange rate has stabilized recently and issued another warning to foreign investors.

 

To curb appreciation, the Central Bank intervened by purchasing foreign currency, pushing Taiwan's foreign exchange reserves to US$592.9 billion at the end of May, an increase of US$10.1 billion from the previous month, marking the largest single-month increase since February 2012.

 

June 5: 

According to mainland Chinese state media, the Public Security Bureau in Guangzhou issued a wanted notice, accusing Taiwan's information and electronic warfare forces of conducting cyber-attacks. The notice offered rewards for the arrest of 20 individuals and disclosed personal information, including ID numbers. The report claimed that this was the first time mainland law enforcement had launched a concentrated crackdown on organized cyber-crime allegedly committed by Taiwan's military cyber units.

 

June 5: 

The TAO announced punitive measures against a company owned by the father of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Shen Po-yang. It was later revealed that his family's business exports goods to mainland China, with transactions amounting to hundreds of millions of RMB.

 

Shen, who serves as the convener of the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee and is the founder of the Black Bear Academy, has argued that all cross-strait exchanges are part of China's united front strategy. He has also claimed that the Chinese Communist Party exploits Taiwanese businesspeople operating in China to carry out certain tasks in Taiwan.