Just eight years ago, Taiwan was a different place. In the past, the international community viewed Taiwan exclusively through the framework of cross-straights issues. But now, Taiwan has made a new name for itself as a critical player in pandemic defense and global supply chains, and a bastion of democracy, human rights, and social reform. A new era has dawned, and the shift couldn’t be more obvious.
How did Taiwan manage this change? What did the recent administration do over the past eight years to shift the state of affairs? What preparations had Tsai Ing-wen and her staff made beforehand, and what kinds of competing pressures did they have to face once in office? Assembled from in-depth interviews with the staff and officials of the Tsai administration, How the Times Changed is a political memorandum, establishing a record of how this soft-spoken yet firm-willed president and her core team led the nation safely through the treacherous waters of international politics. Under pressure from constant saber-rattling and hostile military exercises, they held to the middle-course, pushing forward one reform after another. During this time of great changes in the international order, they steered Taiwan in a new direction, and steadily urged the nation forward.