Taiwan's Election as Viewed by Former CASS-ITS Director Zhou Zhihuai

"The emergence of an 'independence-sceptic' generation clearly contributes to the peace and stability of the situation in the Taiwan Strait."

Zhou Zhihuai (周志怀) is a well-known figure among China’s Taiwan-watching community. He was most notably the director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’s prestigious Institute of Taiwan Studies from 2013 until his semi-retirement aged 60 in early 2017. He has since held a number of research positions and has continued to work within the framework of China’s United Front Work Department.

The following Global Times opinion piece describes Zhou simply as a “senior Taiwan expert” (资深台湾问题专家). However, a summary of this article published a day later by the Hong Kong-based news portal HK01 identified him as I do here.

Writing for a prominent nationalistic outlet such as the Global Times inevitably restricts the amount of nuance and the tone that Zhou might have used in a more specialised outlet. But most of the views he expresses here are no doubt his own. For instance, Zhou has previously voiced his concern over Taiwan’s population’s increasing rejection of the PRC. He also worries tha…