Author: Staff Formosa

Understanding Taiwan: A history of tension that shaped Milwaukee’s ethnic Chinese diaspora. This 21-part explainer series examines the broader landscape defining Taiwan today. By exploring China’s escalating claims over the island, Japan’s historical influence, and how the diaspora is affected, Milwaukee Independent continues its commitment to reporting international narratives with local impact. mkeind.com/taiwanstories Taiwan ranked 12th globally and first in Asia in the 2024 Democracy Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It received a perfect score of 10 out of 10 in electoral process and pluralism and maintained its classification as a full democracy. For context, the U.S....

Understanding Taiwan: A history of tension that shaped Milwaukee’s ethnic Chinese diaspora. This 21-part explainer series examines the broader landscape defining Taiwan today. By exploring China’s escalating claims over the island, Japan’s historical influence, and how the diaspora is affected, Milwaukee Independent continues its commitment to reporting international narratives with local impact. mkeind.com/taiwanstories Taiwan operates as a functioning democracy under conditions that most democratic governments have never faced. It held a presidential election in January 2024 and transferred power peacefully under a divided legislature, with no single party commanding a majority for the first time since 2004. All of...

Understanding Taiwan: A history of tension that shaped Milwaukee’s ethnic Chinese diaspora. This 21-part explainer series examines the broader landscape defining Taiwan today. By exploring China’s escalating claims over the island, Japan’s historical influence, and how the diaspora is affected, Milwaukee Independent continues its commitment to reporting international narratives with local impact. mkeind.com/taiwanstories The question is not whether Taiwan’s semiconductor industry matters to the American Midwest. That dependency is established and structural. The question is what happens to the manufacturing base, research institutions, and educational partnerships in cities like Milwaukee when that dependency is stressed. It is not in...

Understanding Taiwan: A history of tension that shaped Milwaukee’s ethnic Chinese diaspora. This 21-part explainer series examines the broader landscape defining Taiwan today. By exploring China’s escalating claims over the island, Japan’s historical influence, and how the diaspora is affected, Milwaukee Independent continues its commitment to reporting international narratives with local impact. mkeind.com/taiwanstories Tapioca pearls, the chewy balls that define Boba tea, are the top food import to the United States from Taiwan. That single trade statistic encodes a larger story about how a small island’s food culture became a global export, how Taiwanese design and media followed similar...