From “Austere Rock” to “Most Dangerous Place on Earth”

In the past few years, Taiwan has gone from a place of relative obscurity to one of significant global focus. Although the threat of Chinese military invasion is not a new one, after the live-fire exercises that followed US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and an increased awareness of Taiwan's importance to global supply chains, Taiwan is now spoken of as the "most dangerous place on Earth"-as the title of an article in The Economist described it. 
 
But what does the media narrative occlude about the situation in Taiwan? Is the possibility of a Chinese invasion spoken of in hyperbolic terms? Likewise, to this extent, do perceptions of the Chinese threat within Taiwan differ from international views?

Brian Hioe is one of the founding editors of New Bloom, an online magazine covering activism and youth politics in Taiwan. Hioe's writing has been published in The Washington Post, The Nation, and The Diplomat.