Taiwan faces a precarious future – whether or not US and China continue on path to conflict

By Kerry Brown, Professor of Chinese Politics; Director, Lau China Institute, King's College London

Taiwan has often compared itself to being a “shrimp between two whales”. That expression has never been more apt than today with the US and China – which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory – locked in a standoff over the future of the island.

At an event I attended some years ago, a Chinese scholar remarked when the issue of the US-China rivalry came up that they believed there was an African saying: “When two elephants are either having a fight, or making love, the grass around…

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