How a baseball game in Japan is testing China on TaiwanBy Karishma Vaswani / Bloomberg OpinionA weekend appearance by Taiwanese Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) at Tokyo Dome, where he cheered on his nation’s team at the World Baseball Classic, has created a geopolitical storm. It is a signal that Tokyo and Taipei are testing how much Beijing can practically control their engagement. The visit was no major diplomatic breakthrough between Japan and Taiwan, but neither was it simply a baseball game. The nation is typically required to compete internationally under the name “Chinese Taipei,” as it is not diplomatically recognized by most countries. Japan still maintains the “one China” policy (where the US and other nations recognize, and have formal ties with, China rather than Taiwan), while holding private and regional exchanges with Taiwan.

Source: Taipei Times March 12, 2026 17:43 UTC