Chair and Professor of Politics and Government Dr. T.Y. Wang was a panelist on “Interpreting Taiwan Elections 2020: What Do the First 30 Days Tell Us?” at the Sigur Center for Asian Studies, George Washington University on February 12, 2020.

Wang argued that the shadow of China loomed over the island’s politics. History, however, has repeated itself as Beijing revived the electoral prospects of a candidate it disapproves of.  In the 1996 and 2000 elections, Beijing’s saber-rattling tactics backfired as candidates that were disapproved of by Chinese leaders were elected. Beijing made the same mistake during Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election. Wang analyzed implications of the electoral outcome, which has important implications for Taiwan’s domestic politics, cross-Strait relations and regional stability in East Asia.