There’s a metaphor often used in diplomatic and academic circles to describe China’s influence — the anaconda in the chandelier. Everyone can see it. Everyone knows it’s there. But no one wants to acknowledge it, because naming it would mean having to act. The phrase was coined in 2002 by the American scholar Perry Link, in an essay for The New York Review of Books. One of the world’s foremost experts on Chinese language, literature, and political expression, Link used the metaphor to describe t...
Dec 26, 2025•42 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we investigate China’s growing political influence in Ireland and the recent meetings between Irish elected officials and members of the Chinese Communist Party. These engagements come at the very moment Ireland’s national cyber-security authority warns of state-aligned threat actors— including those linked to China and Russia—targeting Irish infrastructure, public institutions, and democratic processes. We examine who attended these meetings, why they...
Dec 04, 2025•26 min
Why is China holding private, closed-door meetings with democratic leaders — including in Ireland — despite growing warnings about CCP influence operations? And how does this secrecy connect to Beijing’s global effort to reshape the narrative around the Uyghur crisis? In this episode, Irish anthropologist Dr. David O’Brien joins us to share insights from his time living and researching in Xinjiang in the mid 2000's. We explore how the Chinese Communist Party uses covert diplomacy, narrative mani...
Nov 25, 2025•1 hr
As Ireland prepares to assume the EU Presidency in 2026, its cautious approach to Taiwan continues to draw attention. Why does Ireland remain an outlier among EU member states in its engagement with Taipei, and how much is that caution driven by concerns about Ireland–China relations? In this episode, we speak with John McGuinness, Leas-Cheann Comhairle, Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow–Kilkenny, and Chairman of the Ireland–Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, about his recent visit to Taiwan a...
Nov 13, 2025•44 min
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long pursued a multi-pronged strategy to annex Taiwan — a campaign that has intensified in recent years. From near-daily military incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and territorial waters to provocative blockade exercises around the island, Beijing is steadily increasing pressure. Alongside these military threats, the CCP is waging a parallel campaign of propaganda, disinformation, and grey-zone activities — including infiltratio...
Oct 07, 2025•21 min
Our daily news feeds are dominated by active conflicts—but what about the tensions simmering just below the surface, with global stakes just as high? One of the most strategically significant, yet underreported flashpoints in the world is the Taiwan Strait—a 180km-wide body of international water separating Taiwan from mainland China. It's here that grey zone activity by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is escalating on a near-daily basis. In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we explore...
Aug 26, 2025•29 min
The European Union’s trade deficit with China has doubled over the past decade, fuelling growing frustration in Brussels over what officials describe as a flood of low-cost Chinese products into the EU. Beijing’s continued support for Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is also a major sticking point. The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas called China the “key enabler” of Putin’s war and urged Beijing to halt its support to Russia’s military-industrial base. In response, China has indicated that it...
Aug 13, 2025•32 min
It has been a sweltering few months in Taiwan's political scene with partisanship intensifying in domestic politics, increased cross-strait tensions and unfolding US tariffs. At the end of June, I was fortunate to meet up with two of Taiwan's leading columnists and political analysts from the central city of Taichung. Courtney Donovan Smith is a staff columnist with the Taipei Times whose regular column, Donovan's Deep Dives shares in-depth analysis on everything about Taiwan's political scene a...
Aug 04, 2025•39 min
On July 26th, nearly one-third of Taiwan’s electorate were eligible to vote in the first wave of what’s being called The Great Recall (大罷免) — a rarely used mechanism allowing voters to dismiss nationally elected lawmakers midterm. This marks the first time the process has been deployed on such a large scale with 24 lawmakers from the Kuomintang (KMT) or Chinese Nationalist Party on the ballot. The vote result is being closely watched as it has the potential to alter the balance of power in Taiwa...
Jul 27, 2025•13 min
Welcome to the fourth installment in our series on Taiwan’s Great Recall in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important moment in Taiwan’s democratic journey. In our earlier episodes in this series, we spoke with a political scientist, a pro-recall grass roots organization and a Kuomintang or KMT (中國國民黨) representative. Feel free to go back and listen to those episodes which you can find on our blog at pwneilo.com or by searching for Perspectives with Ne...
Jul 21, 2025•29 min
Welcome to the third installment in our series on Taiwan's Great Recall (大罷免) in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important moment in Taiwan's democratic journey. As the days count down to July 26th, campaigning by both the pro and anti recall groups in Taiwan is gaining momentum. These recall campaigns are a result of a power struggle between different branches of Taiwan’s government - the Legislative Yuan which is controlled by the Chinese Nationalist...
Jul 16, 2025•47 min
Welcome to the second installment in our series on Taiwan’s Great Recall in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important moment in Taiwan’s democratic journey. As we explained in our first episode, since the last election in January of 2024, Taiwan’s parliament or Legislative Yuan has been controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their smaller ally the Taiwan People’s Party who according to opponents have sought to block the ruling party’s ag...
Jul 08, 2025•36 min
In this episode we kick off the first part in a series of podcasts on Taiwan’s Great Recall in which we aim to bring you perspectives from all sides of the debate at this important crossroads in Taiwan’s democratic journey. As we explained in our previous episode on President Lai’s first year in office, while his party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential vote in January of 2024, they failed to maintain a majority in the Legislative Yuan or parliament. As a result, the pa...
Jun 29, 2025•45 min
These are challenging times for many world leaders, and no less so for the democratically elected leader of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te (賴清德). Lai Ching-te or William Lai was inaugurated as the President of Taiwan on May 20th, 2024. He succeeded Tsai Ing-wen and his election to the presidential office marks the first time for his party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)(民主進步黨) to hold this office for three consecutive terms. While the DPP won the presidential vote, they failed to maintain a majori...
Jun 20, 2025•48 min
On June 4th 1989, student-led demonstrations which had been brewing across China for a few months were violently crushed by the Chinese Communist Party who declared martial law and sent their troops onto the streets of Beijing to end the protests Estimates of the death toll vary from several hundred to several thousand, with thousands more wounded. While the massacre has been downplayed and deleted from public record in China, it has been commemorated outside of China in the intervening years. P...
Jun 15, 2025•27 min
Since the start of President Trump’s second term—and especially following the unprecedented Oval Office confrontation last February between Trump, J.D. Vance, and Ukrainian President Zelensky—Washington’s policy on Ukraine has undergone a dramatic shift. While this realignment has alarmed many of America’s traditional European allies, the ripple effects have been felt far beyond Europe, including in Taiwan. Despite the absence of a formal treaty, U.S. support has long been a cornerstone of Taiwa...
Jun 04, 2025•37 min
Computex 2025 took place during the week of May 20th in the vibrant tech hub of Taipei, Taiwan. Widely regarded as one of the world’s premier computer and technology expos, Computex continues to set the stage for what’s next in the industry. This year’s theme, “AI Next,” highlighted the growing reach of artificial intelligence—from the cloud, to the edge, and into everyday devices and applications. There was particular focus on AI & Robotics, Next-Gen Tech and Future Mobility. Areas like Gam...
May 26, 2025•1 hr 14 min
May 9th marked the 80th anniversary celebrations of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. Russia also celebrated their version of Victory Day - an event steeped in national pride and symbolism - with a military parade in Red Square in front of an audience which included 29 visiting world leaders. As U.S. President Donald Trump seeks a deal to end Russia's war in Ukraine, the U.S. and Europe were watching closely to see if President Putin would offer a different message this year ...
May 14, 2025•22 min
As the global economy continues to grapple with the roller coaster uncertainties of President Donald Trump's tariff war, trade relations between the world's two largest economies - the United States and China - have reached a breaking point. A series of tit-for-tat tariff escalations has pushed their economic ties to the brink, with ripple effects being felt far beyond their borders. While many smaller nations scramble to shield themselves from the fallout of this high-stakes trade conflict, Chi...
Apr 22, 2025•20 min
According to data gathered by the European External Action Service (EEAS), last year over eighty countries and over two hundred organizations were targets of attacks from Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference - or FIMI. These attacks targeted everything from major international events like the Paris Olympics, to national elections, regional conflicts and local protests. The main instigators of these influence operations were China and Russia and they use FIMI to manipulate public opi...
Apr 05, 2025•57 min
Recently, international headlines have been dominated by US President Donald Trump's trade tariffs and his challenge to the rules-based international order. Trump has made bold threats, including seeking control of Greenland, the Panama Canal, and Gaza, while aligning with Russia and withdrawing support for Ukraine. His escalating tariff policies are raising doubts about long-standing alliances and the future of the global trading system, leaving many allies—including the EU—unsure of what comes...
Mar 13, 2025•39 min
In mid-February, the communities of Uyghurs and Hong Kongers living in Ireland wrote an open letter to the Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris highlighting concerns for their safety and drawing urgent attention to the pattern of Chinese state surveillance and harassment of members of their diaspora communities. The letter was written in advance of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Ireland and requested the Irish Government to adopt a human-rights-based approach in their ...
Mar 05, 2025•40 min
On February 16th and 17th, China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi visited Ireland. Mr Wang is the second senior Chinese official to visit Ireland in just over a year, following a visit by Premier Li Qiang in January of 2024. In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we dive deep into China’s growing interest in Ireland and how this dynamic intersects with broader EU-China relations. We examine how the rise of protectionist policies under US President Donald Trump coupled with China’s desire to resh...
Feb 24, 2025•23 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we are delighted to share our recent interview with film director Aephie Chen, the brilliant mind behind the stunning film MAMU. Known for its exploration of culture, language and identity, MAMU is a deeply personal story that navigates the complexities of father-daughter relationships, the bond between people and their homelands, and the intimate challenges of caring for a loved one who is slipping away from this world. The film unfolds through the le...
Feb 12, 2025•21 min
In this episode of Perspectives with Neilo, we dive deep into the heart of international diplomacy and the challenges faced by democracies on the frontlines. Senator Gerry Horkan (Ireland) shares his firsthand experience and insights from his July 2024 visit to Taiwan, a democratic beacon in the Asia-Pacific region. Horkan reflects on the warm reception he received in Taiwan, as well as the reported backlash from China's Wolf Warrior diplomacy. The Chinese Ambassador to Ireland’s harsh criticism...
Feb 05, 2025•21 min
In this episode we explore the traditions and customs of the Lunar New Year (also known as the Spring Festival 春節), a captivating festival rooted in ancient lunar cycles and celebrated across multiple East Asian countries. Listen in as we talk to some friends on the Taiwan stand at the Holiday World Show held recently at the RDS, Dublin about the Year of the Snake, 2025. We hear about everything from parades and fireworks, to favorite foods and the exchange of lucky red envelopes (紅包) and how co...
Jan 29, 2025•18 min
With the promise of a new year comes the anticipation of new horizons, and for many, this is the time to plan travel for the year ahead. In 2024, the Chinese Government unilaterally extended visa-free entry to citizens of 38 countries and has broadened a policy of offering visa-free entry for transit travelers who plan visits of 10 days or less. That currently applies to 54 nations. In a number of past episodes we've talked with experts about how China differs from Western liberal democracies (s...
Jan 14, 2025•20 min
In this 2024 Perspectives with Neilo Wrapped!, we rewind and revisit four episodes from earlier in the year, exploring a recurring theme that connects them. In our first podcast back in January, we chatted with acclaimed journalist on contemporary China, Bethany Allen. We talked to her about her book "Beijing Rules" in which she discusses China's Authoritarian Economic Statecraft. In this revisit, we hear how the Chinese Communist Party has highly politicized the area of sister city twinning and...
Dec 23, 2024•40 min
Two subsea cables, one linking Finland and Germany and the other connecting Sweden and Lithuania were damaged in less than 24 hours on November 17th and 18th prompting German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to say - he assumed it was sabotage. The suspected culprit is a Chinese registered bulk carrier - the Yi Peng 3 - which was traveling through the area after departing the Russian port of Ust Luga west of St Petersburg on November 15th. Reuters news agency have quoted Western Intelligence off...
Dec 11, 2024•39 min
Data Centres contribute significantly to Ireland's GDP. The Irish data centre market amounted to over 3 Billion Euros of investment in 2023 with key opportunities to capitalize on future growth being driven by the AI revolution. However, its a competitive industry and while Ireland may have once been the EU pioneer of data centres, planning hurdles and electricity supply issues are forcing global technology companies to reconsider Ireland's role as a data centre hub. In this episode, we report f...
Dec 05, 2024•39 min
