Taiwan is an independent nation. Unfortunately, the only people that seem to be aware of this are the people of Taiwan and overseas Taiwanese. Meanwhile, China is doing everything in its power to make sure that no one outside of these two groups is aware of this. Therefore, Taiwan's independence is as much about politics as it is about marketing.
To prove this point ask yourself this question: What is Taiwan's position regarding independence and China's claim of sovereignty?
Now ask yourself, what is China's position with regard to Taiwan? I bet you had a much harder time answering the first question than the second question. I expect that among the world's population, very few people know what Taiwan's position is with regard to China's claim of sovereignty, but many people know what China's position is.
How is this possible? In a single word the answer is marketing. Like in the business world, governments market their policies in hopes of gaining public awareness and support.
Regarding the subject of cross-strait relations and Taiwan's independence, China has for years been successfully marketing its policy that this is an internal affair that doesn't concern outsiders. By contrast, what has Taiwan done? If your answer is "I do not know," then Taiwan has not effectively engaged and utilized a successful marketing campaign to mobilize public opinion against China's outrageous claims. However, it is not too late for Taiwan to begin its own worldwide marketing campaign. Taiwan can effectively market the fact that it is an independent nation to the rest of the world and hopefully rally the support of other nations.
China is presently winning the cross-strait marketing war. Its main armory consists of two short and concise "marketing slogans." The first slogan is that Taiwan is a renegade province that must be reunited with China, by force if necessary. The second is that the Taiwan issue is an internal issue. You cannot read a news article or listen to a news broadcast without hearing either or both of these "marketing slogans."
Like any good marketing campaign, China's message has been unwavering and consistent. Indeed, every news service in the world seems all too happy to attach China's "slogans" to every news story. What has China's marketing message done to world opinion? It has caused the people of the world to stay out of the Taiwan-China debate.
In effect, China has effectively pre-empted any open discussion of cross-strait issues and Taiwan independence by persons not directly affected by it, thus isolating Taiwan from the rest of the world.
So, what can Taiwan do to combat China's claims? Taiwan needs to implement its own worldwide marketing campaign to educate people that it is an independent nation. World opinion matters. It can help to shape the foreign policy of other nations and create support for Taiwan. It is not too late. Taiwan has the ability to create an effective marketing campaign with little additional effort. This is because Taiwan already has great name recognition among the residents of all countries. Specifically, Taiwan has a name already known to many people around the world, whether they realize it or not. For decades, consumers around the world have seen "Made in Taiwan" labels on the products that that buy. These small labels have built name recognition for Taiwan. Therefore, Taiwan can and should build on this name recognition to its own benefit.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) challenges and ignores the international rules-based order by violating Taiwanese airspace using a high-flying drone: This incident is a multi-layered challenge, including a lawfare challenge against the First Island Chain, the US, and the world. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) defines lawfare as “controlling the enemy through the law or using the law to constrain the enemy.” Chen Yu-cheng (陳育正), an associate professor at the Graduate Institute of China Military Affairs Studies, at Taiwan’s Fu Hsing Kang College (National Defense University), argues the PLA uses lawfare to create a precedent and a new de facto legal
Chile has elected a new government that has the opportunity to take a fresh look at some key aspects of foreign economic policy, mainly a greater focus on Asia, including Taiwan. Still, in the great scheme of things, Chile is a small nation in Latin America, compared with giants such as Brazil and Mexico, or other major markets such as Colombia and Argentina. So why should Taiwan pay much attention to the new administration? Because the victory of Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast, a right-of-center politician, can be seen as confirming that the continent is undergoing one of its periodic political shifts,
In the first year of his second term, US President Donald Trump continued to shake the foundations of the liberal international order to realize his “America first” policy. However, amid an atmosphere of uncertainty and unpredictability, the Trump administration brought some clarity to its policy toward Taiwan. As expected, bilateral trade emerged as a major priority for the new Trump administration. To secure a favorable trade deal with Taiwan, it adopted a two-pronged strategy: First, Trump accused Taiwan of “stealing” chip business from the US, indicating that if Taipei did not address Washington’s concerns in this strategic sector, it could revisit its Taiwan
Taiwan’s long-term care system has fallen into a structural paradox. Staffing shortages have led to a situation in which almost 20 percent of the about 110,000 beds in the care system are vacant, but new patient admissions remain closed. Although the government’s “Long-term Care 3.0” program has increased subsidies and sought to integrate medical and elderly care systems, strict staff-to-patient ratios, a narrow labor pipeline and rising inflation-driven costs have left many small to medium-sized care centers struggling. With nearly 20,000 beds forced to remain empty as a consequence, the issue is not isolated management failures, but a far more