Conventional wisdom holds that as long as the economy perks along, the people of Hong Kong will remain satisfied and non- or apolitical. This notion has been proved wrong time and again. Tens of thousands still gather each year to memorialize the massacres that took place at Tien An Men (ironically, the name means… Read more

Mrs. Anson Chan, who had been the head of Hong Kong's civil service both before and after the handover to China, was elected to the Legislative Council on December 3, defeating her pro-Beijing opponent by 12 percentage points. Her election likely will give new energy to the movement for greater democracy and universal suffrage in… Read more

The Reagan Administration spent the first half of 1982 in increasingly tough negotiations with the People's Republic of China (PRC) over America's continuing arms sales to Taiwan following the 1979 shift of U.S. diplomatic relations to Beijing. The Carter Administration had insisted that, given congressional opinion, continuing limited arms sales to Taiwan was a political… Read more

The Bush Administration has often said it opposes attempts by either side-China or Taiwan-to alter the status quo in the Taiwan Strait area. This admonition, given by White House or State Department spokespersons, is almost always directed at statements from, or actions taken by, the government in Taipei. Apparently, China's yearly addition of 100 offensive… Read more