Cross-Strait Relations: The Current Situation | 2022 ANU Taiwan Update

The year 2022 provided a number of opportunities to refocus on Taiwanese affairs. In August, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, visited Taiwan, provoking furious rhetoric from China's government and its online community. In October at the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping reiterated the Chinese position on "reunification" as part of a speech setting the tenor for his unprecedented third five-year term as leader. In addition, war in Europe saw speculation - often uninformed - in the media of its significance for an understanding of Taiwan's future. As a result, relations across the Taiwan Strait are as fraught as they have been for decades.

In this opening panel of the inaugural ANU Taiwan Update, three speakers address the current state of play from different angles: security, cyber-attacks and disinformation, and business. This combination of perspectives will provide insight into the complexities of the relationship and some of its fundamental factors as we look to the future.

Chair:

Associate Professor Amy King, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU

Speakers:

Dr Lennon Chang, School of Social Sciences, Monash University

Ching-Mei Maddock, CEO, Australia-Taiwan Business Council

Professor Brendan Taylor, Strategic & Defence Studies Centre, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, ANU

The ANU Taiwan Studies program is supported by the Republic of China Ministry of Education and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Canberra.