Washington

After attempts to meddle in Taiwan’s elections fail, China takes stock

Published

2 years ago

January 14, 2024

After attempts to meddle in Taiwan’s elections fail, China takes stock

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese voters have made it clear — for the third time in a row — that they don’t want a leader who will kowtow to China. The democratic island elected as president Saturday Lai Ching-te, the current vice president and former independence advocate whom Beijing views as a dangerous “separatist.”

Now, Beijing must craft a response.

For Beijing, Lai’s victory is a loss that deepens anxiety about its ability to bring Taiwan under its control, a long-held goal of the ruling Communist Party and a key part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s legacy. The result gives Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which Beijing refuses to engage with, an unprecedented third term.

“A Lai win will mean that Xi loses face,” said Chen Fang-Yu, assistant professor of political science at Soochow University in Taipei. “It means his Taiwan policy has failed. So now he must do something to show his muscle.”

Taiwan elects Lai Ching-te as president. China calls it a dangerous choice.

In the months ahead, Beijing is expected to dial up its efforts to intimidate Taiwan using familiar coercive tactics including military harassment and economic pressure.

But actual conflict or invasion is unlikely — at least for now — officials and analysts in Taiwan and the United States say. China’s immediate actions will be tempered by a desire to maintain recently stabilized relations with Washington.

A U.S. delegation including former national security adviser Stephen Hadley and former deputy secretary of state James Steinberg was set to arrive in Taipei on Sunday, according to the American Institute of Taiwan, the de facto U.S. Embassy here.

China’s initial response to Lai’s victory was predictable: Officials used the usual strongly worded statements on Sunday, and Beijing’s embassies in countries that congratulated Lai condemned them for “interfering in China’s internal affairs.” The Chinese Embassy in London wrote: “No matter how the situation in Taiwan changes, the basic fact that Taiwan is part of China will not change.”

Four military vessels had been detected near Taiwan, the island’s Defense Ministry said Sunday morning, while a high-altitude Chinese balloon floated off the northwest coast near the capital.

For the past eight years, since the DPP took power, Beijing cut off all official ties with President Tsai Ing-wen, and it is even less likely to engage with Lai, who has previously pushed for outright independence.

Lai has moderated his position while serving as Tsai’s vice president and pledged to continue her policy of maintaining the fragile status quo and avoiding a war in the Taiwan Strait. He has said several times that he would engage with Beijing “as equals.”

But Beijing has already rejected the DPP position that Taiwan is a sovereign country under its official name, the Republic of China, and that there is no need to formalize independence and risk conflict.

Taiwanese voters, those who supported Lai and those who chose two opposition candidates, are girding themselves for a rocky four years.

“I expect the Chinese to intensify pressure on Taiwan, but I’m not afraid of them,” said Akira Chiu, 60, who works in tourism and voted for Lai. “We are ready to protect our country at any time.”

Hsieh Hsin Jung, a 26-year-old office worker in Taipei who voted for the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, which supports closer ties with China, said the DPP would bring Taiwan closer to war with China.

“I’m quite worried about Taiwan’s future because the DPP has a history of confronting China. What if China runs out of patience in the next four years and declares war? It’s not impossible,” she said.

4 ways China is trying to interfere in Taiwan’s presidential election

Analysts say Beijing is not likely to take drastic action before Lai’s inauguration on May 20, the next key marker that will determine how his election will affect the uneasy relationship between Taiwan, China and the United States.

Before then, Beijing will attempt to strike a balance between intimidating Taipei and urging Washington to rein in Lai without provoking a backlash that pushes the Taiwanese public further away.

“China will keep its military pressure high to deter Lai from ‘crossing the red line’ during the inauguration speech,” said Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

Few expect the level of force shown after then-U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in 2022, when the Chinese military launched nearly a dozen missiles in four days of military exercises surrounding Taiwan. But Beijing can deploy other methods.

Since December, China sent more than 31 high-altitude balloons — similar to the one shot down over the United States last year — into Taiwan’s airspace, representing a new form of “gray zone” tactics meant to intimidate and use up Taiwan’s military resources.

Before the election, Beijing canceled preferential tariffs on 12 types of chemicals imported from Taiwan, part of a trade agreement in place for the past decade, and threatened to halt more.

“The cumulative impact of those steps is, Lai will become less, not more flexible on his cross-strait positions,” said Rick Waters, managing director of Eurasia Group’s China practice and formerly the State Department’s top China policy official.

Beijing will be able to use that pressure to exploit some of Lai’s weaknesses. On Sunday, Chinese state media emphasized how Lai won the presidency with only 40 percent of the vote and his party lost its majority in the legislature.

“The results of the two elections prove that the [DPP] does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement late Saturday.

Although Lai’s election was a setback for China, said Minxin Pei, a political scientist at Claremont McKenna College, Beijing can console itself with the knowledge that the new government is weaker than the departing one. The main opposition, the Kuomintang, now has a slight lead in the legislature.

“So except for losing face, China is substantively in a slightly better position than before,” Pei said.

Still, Beijing appears reluctant to erase the gains made when Xi and President Biden met in November, which helped reopen key channels of communication, including between the two militaries.

For that reason, China will probably hold its fire, said Bonnie Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific program at the German Marshall Fund.

“I think the Chinese will hold back on some of the bigger things — maybe flying a fighter jet inside Taiwan’s territorial airspace — because they need to be able to have some things to roll out later on and because they don’t want to upset the fragile stability in U.S.-China relations,” she said.

The Biden administration reiterated in the lead-up to the election that it does not support Taiwanese independence and that it does not take a position on “the ultimate resolution of cross-Strait differences, provided they are resolved peacefully.”

That’s meant to reassure Beijing, said Amanda Hsiao, senior China analyst at the Crisis Group think tank. “It’s a clear attempt on the two sides to maintain the momentum generated out of the Xi-Biden meeting.”

Even if high-level political dialogue between Beijing and the incoming Lai administration is not possible, there is room for moderating tensions. Signaling through public statements or communicating through unofficial back channels would all help, according to Hsiao.

“This window of time we’re in is really important. It really depends on what’s communicated between the three parties. It’s an opportunity to set expectations,” she said, referring to Beijing, Taipei and Washington.

In Taipei, some residents see little point in trying to reason with Beijing. “If China wants to launch a war, no matter what Taiwan does or which party is in power, it wouldn’t be able to stop them,” said Dora Chang, a 27-year-old translator who has recently signed up for a civil-defense training course. “We all know the provocative side has always been China, not Taiwan.”

Ellen Nakashima in Washington and Lyric Li, Vic Chiang and Pei-Lin Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.

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Washington

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

PHOTOS: Long Beach State Dirtbags vs. Washington State, Baseball

The562’s coverage of Dirtbags Baseball for the 2026 season is sponsored by P2S, Inc. Visit p2sinc.com to learn more.

Long Beach State dropped a 9-7 decision against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, closing out a busy weekend on Bohl Diamond at Blair Field.

The visiting Cougars took the lead for good in the eighth inning when Long Beach Poly grad Ryan Skjonsby delivered a game-winning two-run single with two outs and the bases loaded. Skjonsby was 2-for-4 with a walk, a run scored and three RBIs for Washington State in their road victory.

For the Dirtbags, catcher Damon Valdez scored twice and had a key two-run single in the sixth to help lead a Long Beach comeback. Trevor Goldenetz had a pair of hits at the top of the order, including an RBI triple. Camden Gasser walked twice and singled, improving his on-base percentage to .574 on the season.

Long Beach State (4-7) will be back in action at home on Tuesday with an exhibition match against Waseda University from Japan. The Dirtbags will then visit San Diego State on Wednesday and open Big West play at UC Santa Barbara this weekend.

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Washington

Week Ahead in Washington: March 1

Published

14 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) – Operation “Epic Fury” — the weekend military operations carried out by the U.S. and Israel against targets in Iran — tops the agenda for Congress as lawmakers return to Washington.

Sunday, President Donald Trump said the new leadership in Iran wants to talk to the Trump Administration.

Democrats in both chambers called for Congress to return as soon as possible for classified briefings on Iran, followed by a move to vote on the War Powers Act. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war on another country.

Congress’ return to Washington was originally delayed due to the start of the 2026 midterm elections cycle.

Tuesday, voters in Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas head to the polls for primary elections.

North Carolina and Texas are drawing significant attention, as both states are facing congressional redistricting and competitive primary races for Senate seats.

In Texas, incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R) is facing primary challenges from state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Wesley Hunt. On the Democratic side, Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing state Rep. James Talarico.

In North Carolina, candidates are vying to replacing retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R) . They include former Governor Roy Cooper (D) and former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.

Also this week, the Rev. Jesse Jackson is laid to rest. He will be honored Wednesday in Washington before a final memorial service Saturday. Jackson died Feb. 17.

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Washington

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Caps Fall in Montreal, 6-2 | Washington Capitals

Cole Caufield scored in the first minute of the first period and added another goal later in the frame, sparking the Montreal Canadiens to a 6-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday night at Bell Centre.

Washington entered the game with a modest three-game winning streak and six wins in its last seven games. Although they were able to briefly draw even with the Habs after Caufield’s opening salvo, Caufield and the Canadiens responded quickly and the Caps found themselves chasing the game for the remainder of the night.

“I didn’t mind some of the things that we did tonight,” says Caps coach Spencer Carbery. “I thought we created enough offensively, we just made way too many catastrophic mistakes to be able to sustain that.”

In the first minute of the game, Caufield blocked a Jakob Chychrun point shot, tore off on the resulting breakaway and beat Charlie Lindgren for a 1-0 lead for the Canadiens, half a minute into the contest. Lindgren was making his first start since Jan. 29, following a short stint on injured reserve for a lower body injury he sustained in that game.

After the two teams traded unsuccessful power plays, the Caps pulled even in the back half of the first. With traffic in front, Declan Chisholm let a shot fly from the left point. The puck hit Anthony Beauvillier and bounded right to Alex Ovechkin, who had an easy tap-in for career goal No. 920 at 13:16 of the first.

But Montreal came right back to regain the lead 63 seconds later, scoring a goal similar to the one Ovechkin just scored.

From the left point, Canadiens defenseman Jayden Struble put a shot toward the net. It came to Nick Suzuki on the goal line, and the Habs captain pushed it cross crease for Caufield to tap it home from the opposite post at 14:19.

Less than two minutes later, Lindgren made a dazzling glove save to thwart Caufield’s hat trick bid.

Midway through the middle period, Montreal went on the power play again. Although the Caps were able to kill the penalty, the Habs added to their lead seconds after the kill was completed; Mike Matheson skated down a gaping lane in the middle of the ice and beat Lindgren from the slot to make it a 3-1 game at 12:22.

Minutes later, Montreal netminder Jakub Dobes made a big stop on Aliaksei Protas from the right circle, and Suzuki grabbed the puck and took off in the opposite direction. From down low on the right side, he fed Kirby Dach in the slot, and Dach’s one-timer made it 4-1 for the Canadiens at 16:34 of the second.

In the waning seconds of the second, Dobes made one of his best stops of the night on Beauvillier, enabling the Canadiens to carry a three-goal lead into the third.

Those two quick goals in the back half of the second took some wind out of the Caps, who were playing their third game in four nights following the three-week Olympic break.

“We kill off a penalty, and then we end up going down 3-1right after the penalty,” says Caps center Nic Dowd. “Those are challenging to give up, right? You do a good job [on the kill], it’s a 2-1 game, and then all of a sudden, before you blink, it’s 4-1 and then the game gets away from you.

“And they defended well tonight; It’s tough to score goals in this League, and you go into the third period, and you’ve got to score three. You saw that [Friday] night when we played Vegas; they were able to score two, but it’s tough to get that third one. I think we have to manage situations a little bit better. It’s a 2-1 game on a back-to-back, we just kill a penalty off, or maybe we just have a power play – whatever it is – we have to manage that, especially in an arena like this, where the crowd gets into it on nothing plays. They can really sway momentum – and in a good way – for their home team.

“We just have to understand that if we don’t have our legs in certain situations, because of travel, it’s back-to-back or whatever, we really have to key into the details of the game and not let things get away from us quickly.

With 7:28 left in the third, Ovechkin netted his second of the game – and the fifth goal he has scored in this building this season – on a nice feed from Dylan Strome to pull the Caps within two goals of the Habs, who have coughed up some late leads this season.

But Montreal salted the game away with a pair of late empty-net goals from Suzuki and Jake Evans, respectively.

In winning six of their previous seven games, the Caps had been playing with a lead most of the time. But playing from behind virtually all night against a good team in a tough building is a tall task under any circumstances. And it was exactly that for the Caps on this night.

“They score on the first shift,” says Strome. “Obviously, Saturday night in Montreal is as good and as loud as it gets. They just got a fortunate bounce; puck was off Caulfield’s leg, and a perfect bounce for a breakaway. It’s just one of those things where we got down early and now they kind of fed off the momentum of the crowd.

“But I still think our game is in a good spot, and we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. Obviously, we’ve played more games than everyone so we’re going to need some help, but we’ve just got to keep stacking wins. It’s tough on the back-to-back in Montreal, but we’ll find a way to bounce back on Tuesday [vs. Utah at home] and then go from there.”

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