Several entertainers in Taiwan have been accused of dodging the mandatory military conscription. Eleven big names, such as Nine Chen and William Liao, were thrown into the spotlight after police conducted raids last week.

Global tensions intensified after a fleet of Chinese naval vessels were spotted operating in contested waters off the coast of Japan. Five ships were seen travelling south through the Miyako Strait, a waterway in Japan's southwestern islands, from the East China Sea towards the Philippine Sea - led by an amphibious assault warship.

ORIANA SYLAR MASTRO is a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

According to a recent Bloomberg report shutting down nuclear power in Taiwan, which prior to 2015 accounted for more than 16% of the electricity mix, will be costly. “Taking into account energy demand growth, Taiwan may need to spend around $2bn more per year on liquefied natural gas purchases by 2030,” the report said.

Taiwan has long been a tense flashpoint between Washington and Beijing. By law, the U.S. is required to help Taiwan defend itself. But there is now a debate about whether Taiwan is spending enough on defense,

Taiwan authorities have questioned nearly a dozen celebrities for allegedly dodging their mandatory military draft. The series of high-profile interrogations is a symptom of a longstanding problem recruiting willing and able-bodied men into the military.

Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for decades, but experts say the threat to Taiwan is greater given the risk of a Chinese invasion. The Democratic Progressive Party said its Central Evaluation Committee had agreed unanimously to expel the ...