Taiwan’s First Peoples Speak Up

Among the many column inches devoted to the prospect of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, one group is rarely mentioned: the contested island’s Indigenous peoples. What do they think about China’s claim that Taiwan is a breakaway province and must be reabsorbed? And how important is democracy to these groups, when the overwhelmingly dominant ethnic population in Taiwan is Han Chinese??

To find out, journalism professor Margaret Simons traveled high into Taiwan’s northeastern mountains to meet with its Indigenous people on their traditional lands. Simons found that while the current government may celebrate Taiwan’s first peoples in order to strengthen its identity on a global stage, members of the tribes believe they never ceded sovereignty. Consequently, as Simons discovers, their presence is in some ways an inconvenient truth—not only to Xi and the People’s Republic of China, but also to the Taiwanese political class affirming their heritage for its own ends.—The Editors

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Exercise Your Mind

On Wednesday, U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met face-to-face for the first time in how many years?

(A) One year

(B) Three years

(C) Five years

(D) 10 years

You can find the answer to this question and learn more at the end of this email.

The Latest Israel-Hamas Coverage

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A. One year. The two leaders promised to restore military-to-military talks, among other initiatives, FP’s Robbie Gramer reports.