Senior Analyst (China, Taiwan) at Wikistrat. Former U.S. diplomat. Op-eds: Forbes, National Interest, Newsweek, SCMP. Lived in China 2006-12, Vietnam 2013-18.
Taipei and Tokyo
Joined June 2013
- Tweets9.8K
- Following790
- Followers1.1K
- Likes42.1K
Gary Sands retweeted
The White House has once again used Japanese manga/anime to promote itself, with Trump and his allies on ship from One Piece.
The Japanese government has previously requested that the U.S. government to stop using anime and manga without permission of the copyright holders.
"How did she get so close?" 🤔
In Taipei and DC, questions swirl around the woman in pink. Linked to what the New York Times calls a “Chinese spy plot.” How did she get so close to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang? NYT says “Trump was briefed and took no action.” We speak with @paulmozur on @OutFrontCNN
Gary Sands retweeted
In Taipei and DC, questions swirl around the woman in pink. Linked to what the New York Times calls a “Chinese spy plot.” How did she get so close to Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang? NYT says “Trump was briefed and took no action.” We speak with @paulmozur on @OutFrontCNN – at Taipei City, Taiwan
Gary Sands retweeted
China has accelerated the mapping of waters near Taiwan, sending dozens of ships to gather data that could be critical for submarines and subsea drones in a fight over the self-ruled island. on.wsj.com/47P8K4s
Gary Sands retweeted
📢 Applications are open for the CSIS Japan Chair spring internship.
Interested applicants should submit a cover letter, résumé, academic transcripts, and a short writing sample by November 20, 2026.
For more information and to apply, visit bit.ly/4ziCBya
The lack of profits and the threat of western countries, especially the US, extending bans on Chinese technology have led to the sell-off. theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
The companies “helped collect genetic material used to track persecuted ethnic minorities, including people subjected to forced labor, meaning work they could not freely refuse.” taipeitimes.com/News/front/a…
Snapping the chalk line: Under the Army Ready Forward initiative, the US has placed equipment, materiel and personnel on a rotational basis west of the International Date Line on the island chains closest to China. taipeitimes.com/News/front/a…
The United States and Japan have agreed to establish a Japanese facility for the joint production of advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles.
Gary Sands retweeted
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang was reportedly “targeted” by a suspected Chinese spy whose Singapore-based firm bought billions in AI chips.
Huang and NVIDIA’s board owe Congress answers.
And we must pass bipartisan legislation to keep our advanced AI technology out of China’s hands.
Gary Sands retweeted
Nothing says "China is not a dictatorship and our leaders are not dictators" like engaging in a full scale global struggle session to censor a joking reference to Mao by a football player.
#CCPIronyDeficiency
International soccer star @KMbappe should not apologize for calling Mao Zedong a dictator. Mao was a dictator, and by orders of magnitude, he did more harm to the Chinese people than a comment from a soccer player ever could. Mao was the leader of the CCP for decades and his dictatorship and disastrous policies killed tens of millions of Chinese people in the Cultural Revolution, the Great Famine, and other atrocities. Involved in the Party from its first national meeting in 1921, Mao is the principal historical figure for a Party that continues his practices of oppression and ideological purges. For decades, the CCP has denied the Chinese people basic human rights including freedom of expression and freedom of religion. These are rights enjoyed by Mbappe and millions of people around the world and Mbappe should exercise this opportunity to tell the horrific truth about Mao’s dictatorship.
The real disgrace in this news story is the companies rushing to apologize so they can continue to do business in China. The CCP is the largest oppressor of the Chinese people and their human rights, and those businesses that work with the CCP help normalize its crushing brutality. reuters.com/business/media-t…
"The survey noted a correlation between higher education levels and increased unfavorability toward the KMT." taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/…
Taiwanese President William Lai’s (賴清德) approval and trust ratings rose to 52.2 and 53 percent respectively this month, their highest level since April last year. taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/…
"If China can take 1% of its consumer electronic manufacturing and turn it to defense, they will be able to build a billion drones per year." [42:01] web.mit.edu/webcast/cis/f26/…
Gary Sands retweeted
An “open letter” purportedly signed by students from multiple Chinese universities appeared on a Chinese language website on Monday, calling for the restoration of term limits for the Chinese president.
📷: AFP
Gary Sands retweeted
Apply today!
Full panel or individual proposals welcome:
cfg.cam.ac.uk/news/2027-indo…
Gary Sands retweeted
The New York Times quietly deleted “the nation” from its piece on TSMC. Taiwan is no longer one.
Dan Wang’s Oct. 23 guest essay originally read: “TSMC manufactures nearly all of its chips in Taiwan, the nation that China’s Communist Party has long coveted.”
The live article now reads: “Taiwan, which China’s Communist Party has long coveted.” Same piece, same author, two words gone. No correction note.
The original wording is documented across search results and quotes. The current version is what appears on the NYT site itself.
This matches a long pattern. The Times has preferred “island” or “self-governing island” over “country” or “nation” in its own voice for years, a style choice reported in Taiwanese media as far back as 2006 and shared by most major Western outlets under the One China framework.
Beijing polices that vocabulary. After the Times hosted Taiwan’s President Lai at its DealBook Summit and the host’s wording was read as treating Taiwan as a state, China expelled NYT correspondent Vivian Wang (who had no role in the interview). The paper called it wrong. The U.S. revoked a Xinhua journalist’s visa in response.
When the cost of one word can be a reporter’s visa, it’s fair to ask who is editing whom.
My MBA may be 40 years old, but my guess is if you throttle Starlink/Starshield you throttle your business model.
After Elon Musk posted on X saying he had throttled Ukraine’s use of Starlink after it was used for offensive attacks, House Armed Services Committee member Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) says the billionaire’s ability to wield that power is “beyond disturbing to me.”
“It cannot and should not be the case that a tech oligarch, a private citizen, who has that much control over our national security, who is unaccountable, who is unelected, with zero transparency, is making life and death decisions on the battlefield in systems that our service members and our partners and allies rely upon,” he adds.