1. Cross-strait tensions are on the rise again lately — given the increasing Chinese and U.S. naval presence in the region — so as usual, the discussion around #Taiwan is framed in military terms. “Will there be war?” seems to be the most common question everyone asks.

2. It’s a real concern, but this tendency to see the island as no more than a geopolitical bargaining chip rather than a vibrant democracy of 23.5 million people is dangerous and insulting. That’s also why I often find it dreadful to engage with strategically-minded “realists.”

3. The entire I.R. discipline is founded on the assumption that, if you look at a map of the world, all you see are nation-states with competing “interests,” not the lived experience of actual human beings. So you make casual suggestions like, “Let’s abandon X in exchange for Y!”

4. I wrote this essay in 2018 arguing that Taiwan is important — not because it exists for foreign-policy hawks on the right to check China’s expansionism, but because it’s the most progressive country in Asia that deserves international representation. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/article/island-left-neglected-taiwan-dppp-tsai

5. Quite a few things have changed since then, obviously, as has my assessment on certain issues, but I think the main thesis still stands: Taiwan can’t only be associated with phrases like “arms sales” or, at all, with “reunification” and “renegade province.”

6. I’ve said this many times before and I’ll say it again: The guy who best understands this in Washington is probably Markey. He knows what the Taiwanese, if given a voice on the global stage, can offer on such critical matters as public health. https://twitter.com/SenMarkey/status/1354577353838571523

7. Now he’s set to chair the Senate Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific. I was proud to support him in a tough Massachusetts primary last summer, and I’m confident that he’ll continue to help build a new, post-Kissingerian U.S.-Taiwan relationship. https://twitter.com/jeffreychngo/status/1295895322397487105

8. Finally, my favorite outsider’s look at Taiwan I’ve read all week is from @Noahpinion, who introduces its Covid-19 response in addition to its unique identity, liberal values, urbanism, nightlife, high technology, and even solarpunk architecture! https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/taiwan-is-a-civilization