International | From grey zone to red zone

Taiwan’s new president faces an upsurge in Chinese coercion

But China’s bullying of Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines risks an explosion

Crew aboard a Philippines Coast Guard vessel watch a Chinese Coast Guard ship in waters off the Philippines
Photograph: Jes Aznar/The New York Times/Redux/Eyevine
|MANILA, TAIPEI AND WASHINGTON, DC

SAILING AROUND the northern point of Dadan island, the extent of the geopolitical challenge facing Taiwan becomes glaringly clear: to starboard a small military outpost guards Taiwan’s Kinmen islands and their 140,000-odd residents; to port a pair of curved skyscrapers tower over the Chinese city of Xiamen, whose 5m people stretch all round the bay.

Explore more

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “From grey zone to red zone”

From the May 18th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

Illustration of a person leaning on a table with a red tie and orange-toned hands. In front are small American and Chinese flags on a table.

“Tariffers” v “traders”: the new contest for Donald Trump’s ear

Eye-witnesses to the drama of the first Trump presidency brace for the sequel

Special Investigation Police, conducting a citywide anti-gang operation, raid a house in the Barrio Abajo district where gang members are believed to be residing

The world is losing the fight against international gangs

Globalisation and technological progress are leading to a boom in organised crime


COP29 UNFCCC Climate Conference In Baku

Half a loaf, at best, from the climate talks

This year’s negotiations made very modest progress


Is your master’s degree useless?

New data show a shockingly high proportion of courses are a waste of money

The perils of appeasing a warlike Russia

Finland’s cold-war past offers urgent lessons for Ukraine’s future

The danger zone between two presidents

The world’s bad actors will relish any power vacuum



Discover more

Wegovy hits the People’s Republic, at last

China mainlines “Musk’s miracle medicine”, at a fraction of the cost in America

China’s government is badgering women to have babies

It is testing an expanded pro-natalist playbook


Police officers and a police dog are on guard around the Japanese school in Shenzhen, Chin

China suffers eruptions from its simmering discontents

Amid random violence and increasing protests, fears mount for social stability 


Is India’s education system the root of its problems?

A recent comparison with China suggests that may be so

Podcast Drum Tower

Inside China’s disciplinary centres for “deviant” youth

Our weekly podcast on China. This week: what happens when young Chinese challenge the social conservatism of their parents?