On 13 January 2024, Taiwanese voters went to the polls and elected Lai Ching-Te of the Democratic Progressive Party. Amongst the key points of contention in this election was Taiwan’s future relations with China and how to navigate an increasingly contested geopolitical environment. This expert panel reflects on Taiwan’s election and explores the potential implications its result may have for Taiwan, for the Indo-Pacific, and for the globe.

About the Speaker:

Nick Marro is the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Lead Analyst for global trade. Based in Hong Kong, he has spent over a decade in Asia analysing trade policy. Nick also concurrently helps to lead the EIU’s award-winning coverage of China and Taiwan. In that role, he shapes the EIU’s view on China-Taiwan relations, including how to prepare for and mitigate the risks attached to cross-Strait tensions. Nick previously conducted trade research in Beijing with the US-China Business Council. He graduated from the University of Virginia with degrees in Foreign Affairs and Chinese and holds graduate certification from the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Centre for Chinese and American Studies.

Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy is Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Political Science of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Associated Research Fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP Stockholm), Head of the Associates Network at 9DASHLINE and Consultant at Human Rights Without Frontiers in Brussels. Based in Taiwan, Zsuzsa is Adjunct Assistant Professor at the National Dong Hwa University in Hualien. Between 2008 and 2020 Zsuzsa worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament. In May 2019 she published her book, Europe, China, and the Limits of Normative Power. Zsuzsa is a regular commentator in international media outlets.