News Snapshot:
By Kristian McGuire Since the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) the Asia-Pacific’s largest free trade agreement (FTA) in November 2020, Beijing has repeatedly expressed its determination to play a gatekeeper role in deciding whether Taiwan is admitted. Chinese officials have stated explicitly that Taiwan’s acceptance of Beijing’s “One-China Principle” (一個中國原則) is a prerequisite for its participation in regional economic cooperation. Informed observers suspect that Beijing will also require Taipei to make political concessions or move forward with expanding cross-Strait economic ties under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA, 兩岸經濟合作架構協議) before it will acquiesce to Taiwan joining RCEP…