People want to be prosperous, and prosperity comes from abundant resources and extensive trade. For Taiwan, a key factor for its prosperity is the strength of its connections with the rest of the world.
Global logistics group DHL keeps yearly records about how connected the world’s countries are in the four domains of trade, capital, information and people. The latest DHL Global Connectedness Index, which was published in March, ranked Taiwan 17th among the 171 countries and regions evaluated for 2021. That is two places higher than it was in 2019.
South Korea was raked 16th, an improvement of one place, and Malaysia ranked 14th, also one place higher than 2019. Given the excellent performance of these two countries, Taiwan should have something to learn from them.
The quantitative trends announced by DHL show that although the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, caused that year’s global connectedness to decline slightly, it quickly rebounded to above pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels in 2021, and preliminary data indicate that it increased further last year.
However, the report predicts that global connectedness would be held back this year, due to a decline in the momentum of the world economy, as a trade dispute continues to simmer between China and the US, along with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which started last year, and the US’ repeated interest rate hikes.
These factors have triggered soaring energy and food prices and inflation in various countries, as well as heightening geopolitical tensions. Under such conditions, globalization is facing unprecedented challenges, with emerging signs of network fragmentation, regionalization, bloc formation and nationalism. These factors would cause global networks to be restructured and adjusted.
The worldwide inflows and outflows of trade, people, capital and information are woven into complex networks, which can be clearly illustrated as maps. Singaporean academic Parag Khanna has coined a new word — “connectography” — to describe this field of study. An “atlas of connectedness” might have thousands of maps showing the global state of various parameters. Such maps show clearly how countries are connected and what volume of goods, services and so on flow between them. The connecting lines cut across national borders with their own vitality and logic.
A new definition of geopolitics has emerged, under which the territorial wars of the past are changing into struggles to connect. Connectedness can only be boosted by bolstering infrastructure and establishing close, fast and reliable supply-chain relations with other regions.
A nation’s strength in the new era does not depend solely on big ships and heavy guns, but also on economic planning, trade alliances and research cooperation, with major cities functioning as nodes to create new networks that reach out in all directions.
Many Western countries are responding to the US’ call to “reduce dependence” and “reduce risk” by trying to decouple from China and create an “Indo-Pacific supply chain” in place of the Sino-centric “red supply chain.” This trend puts Taiwan in a pivotal position, but also in a tight spot. Will Taiwan be criticized for whatever it does, or will it manage to profit from both sides? By focusing on boosting our global connectedness and being a hub in the world’s “connectography,” Taiwan can continue to ensure its security and prosperity.
Wei Kuo-yen is a chair professor at Feng Chia University’s iSchool.
Translated by Julian Clegg
As strategic tensions escalate across the vast Indo-Pacific region, Taiwan has emerged as more than a potential flashpoint. It is the fulcrum upon which the credibility of the evolving American-led strategy of integrated deterrence now rests. How the US and regional powers like Japan respond to Taiwan’s defense, and how credible the deterrent against Chinese aggression proves to be, will profoundly shape the Indo-Pacific security architecture for years to come. A successful defense of Taiwan through strengthened deterrence in the Indo-Pacific would enhance the credibility of the US-led alliance system and underpin America’s global preeminence, while a failure of integrated deterrence would
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
On Wednesday last week, the Rossiyskaya Gazeta published an article by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) asserting the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) territorial claim over Taiwan effective 1945, predicated upon instruments such as the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation. The article further contended that this de jure and de facto status was subsequently reaffirmed by UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 1971. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly issued a statement categorically repudiating these assertions. In addition to the reasons put forward by the ministry, I believe that China’s assertions are open to questions in international
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of