Purges are a regular feature of life in the Chinese military, and they have now stretched all the way to the top: Gen. Zhang Youxia, the country’s most senior general, was arrested last week on corruption allegations. That leaves the People’s Liberation Army leadership unsettled and raises questions about Beijing’s designs on Taiwan.

U.S. pressure on the Beijing-claimed island has grown after the opposition-controlled parliament blocked $40 billion in proposed extra defense spending.

Taiwan, for its part, would contribute "elite troops," and Washington might assign personnel in Guam or elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region to help.

Taiwan has finally succeeded in reaching a trade deal with the Trump administration in the United States. After the latest round of trade negotiations between the U.S. and Taiwan, the Lai administration announced that it had successfully lowered tariffs from 20 percent to 15 percent, which will not stack onto most-favored-nation rates.

Taiwan's representative in Canada says he is concerned the Liberal government may be deliberately delaying the signing of a trade agreement with Taipei to preserve its relationship with China.