Firstly, I should apologise for not having written a weekly newsletter in a few weeks. There have been a couple of posts – on Taiwan and India – recently, but not my regular service. Part of the reason has been other work priorities have take precedence, and alongside this a general sense of exhaustion. I usually work seven days a week, or I’m always working on something most waking hours. Even though staring at the computer screen is my favourite activity, I’ve recently decided that it’s probably not particularly healthy. So decided to pull back a little and try and get some fresh air.
I’m hoping that with better or more efficient use of my time I’ll still be able to maintain weekly posts. Writing is the way I collect and organise my thoughts, so even if the weekly newsletter is a little more casual in content its still useful to me (and hopefully interesting to you!).
And there are interesting things happening! I’m currently implementing this more efficient use of my time by typing this in Brisbane airport as I’m transiting on the way to Taipei. As the airport bar is showing rugby – which is an affront to a Melburnian like myself1 – there’s opportunity to do some writing (I actually have the footy – that is Australian Rules Football – playing on another tab on my laptop, but we’ll ignore that for the sake of narrative).
I’m off to Taiwan to do a week’s immersion in the country’s New Southbound Policy, which has been one of the main foreign policy pillars of the Democratic Progressive Party since the election of now former President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. The policy is designed to enhance Taiwan’s cooperation with Southeast Asia, South Asia, Australia and New Zealand. To diversify its economic activity away from China, and to seek to build stronger relationships within the Indo-Pacific which will hopefully create greater regional investment in protecting Taiwan’s unique status (that is, prevent China from invading and trying to annex it).
It should be a fascinating week, and I hope to get a few articles out of it for various publications. I’m also excited to return to Taiwan after having been there in January for the election. This visit I will also be venturing out of Taipei with a visit down to Kaohsiung in the south. Given my love of public transport catching Taiwan’s high-speed rail will also be a thrill. Also this time I won’t be carrying around a broken shoulder and wrist, which should make the visit far more enjoyable.
The major cultural divide in Australia – known as the Barassi Line – is the divide between regions where Australian Rules Football is dominant and regions where rugby is dominant. In general, New South Wales and Queensland are rugby states and the rest of the country is sensible. However, this is not exact, as southern NSW is culturally Victorian and plays what we Melburnians rightly just call footy.