Taiwan is heading for a pivotal election that will define its fraught relationship with China. Here's what's at stake.

Tech Insider : Politics
Supporters cheer at an election campaign rally for Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential candidate Ko Wen-je in Taichung on January 6, 2024.
A campaign rally for the Taiwan People's Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je in Taichung, Taiwan, on Saturday.

I-HWA CHENG/AFP via Getty Images

US intel shows China's army had missiles filled with water instead of fuel in a corruption scandal that led to Xi's military purge: Bloomberg

Tech Insider
Chinese soldiers sit atop mobile rocket launchers, with crowds of people in the background.
Chinese soldiers atop mobile rocket launchers in a parade in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 2019 to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

China's back at it with its balloons

Tech Insider
The suspected Chinese spy balloon drifts to the ocean after being shot down off the coast in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, U.S. February 4, 2023.
A suspected Chinese spy balloon moments after being shot down over South Carolina in February 2023.

Randall Hill/Reuters

China is investigating a Taiwanese boyband for lip-syncing, prompting accusations of election interference

Tech Insider : Politics
Five men who are a part of the band Mayday hold gold trophies with their arms outstretched as they smile to the camera
Taiwanese pop group Mayday hold their award for Best Album in Mandarin for their album "history of Tomorrow" at the 28th Golden Melody Awards in Taipei, Taiwan, Saturday, June 24, 2017.

Billy Dai/ AP

Xi straight-up told Biden that China is going to take over Taiwan, report says. It could end in war.

Tech Insider
Biden/Xi
Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden take a walk after their talks in the Filoli Estate in the U.S. state of California, Nov. 15, 2023.

Xinhua News Agency

Taiwan says China tried to pay one of their soldiers $15 million to steal a US Chinook chopper for them

Tech Insider
A US Chinook helicopter.
A US Chinook helicopter.

Ceng Shou Yi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

I moved from New York to Taiwan for work. I had to take a pay cut to my $40,000 salary — but I have no regrets.

Tech Insider : Travel
Alex Teachey on a bike ride at Taipei's riverside park
Alex Teachey, a 38-year-old astronomer who moved from New York to Taipei in 2020.

Alex Teachey

The US is quietly arming Taiwan against a Chinese invasion — but it could backfire

Tech Insider
Biden, Xi
US President Joe Biden (R) and China's President Xi Jinping (L) meet on the sidelines of the G20 Summit on November 14, 2022.

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

The Japanese yen's plunge forces Tokyo to pull back on biggest defense build-up since World War II as US weapons get pricier

Tech Insider
An F-35 Lightning II streaks across the sky while doing maneuvers to the Eglin Air Force Base runway.
An F-35 Lightning II.

US Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.

China's crackdown on Foxconn, one of Apple's biggest suppliers, shows Beijing is willing to sacrifice its economy for political power

Tech Insider : Economy, Politics, Politics
Terry Gou, founder of Foxconn.
Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn.

Visual China Group/Getty Images

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