Leslie reviews Elon Musk's take on Taiwan in this week's Hashtag Taiwan.

[Why did Taiwanese celebrities celebrate China’s national day?]

October 1 was China’s national day. At midnight that day, China state-run television channel CCTV put out a message on its social media that said “I love you China.” Within minutes, a number of Taiwanese celebrities shared that same post on their own social media. Why did those celebrities feel compelled to celebrate China’s national day? Leslie Liao takes a look. 

2022-10-04

[Beauty queen denied appearance over flag]

Maggie Kao is representing Taiwan at the Miss Asia Global competition in Penang, Malaysia. But, earlier this week, she was denied an appearance because she was going to hold a flag that made China unhappy.  

Watch more clips from “Taiwan Insider” at https://www.facebook.com/pg/TaiwanInsider/videos/ 

[Sound message, bad delivery]

Taipei City mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung wants to install bidets on all of Taipei’s public toilets, which isn’t a terrible idea. But the former health minister took a lot of flak for a video proposing the idea. Why? It wasn’t the idea — it was the presentation.

[Path to escalation?]

Taiwan’s Kinmen islands are less than 10 km away from the Chinese coast. Modern UAVs, or drones, can easily traverse that distance and get a look at the other side. One Chinese civilian drone that crossed over captured footage of two Taiwanese soldiers. Now, there are increased calls for the government to ward off such incursions. But, Leslie Liao is concerned that these drone interactions may escalate an already tense situation.

2022-08-31

[Taiwan ≠ China’s feelings]

It seems like any conversation about Taiwan lately comes against a backdrop of how China would react or feel about that conversation. Leslie Liao thinks it’s time to stop and calls for a change in the way people talk about Taiwan.

[Chinese restaurants in Taipei means Taiwan wants unification with China]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Taiwan is part of China because Taiwan likes Chinese food. How did she get to that conclusion? Leslie explains. 

[Highest-ranking US official to visit in 25 years]

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi landed in Taiwan on Tuesday night. Her arrival marks a historic moment in Taiwan’s foreign relations. While many people around the world were worried that Pelosi’s visit might bring about conflict, people in Taiwan were glad to have her here.