Rather than framing Tsai’s visit as being that of a story of Taiwan “provoking” China — Beijing’s preferred narrative — the post reversed that framing. The caption was not the only example of international media centering Taiwan in its reporting of Tsai’s trip. Beijing’s international strategy on Taiwan is to convince the world that Taiwan does not exist. All too often international media allow Beijing’s narrative — otherwise known as discourse operations — to shape their reporting on Taiwan. When reporting on Taiwan, international media should be careful to center Taiwan’s perspective, not Beijing’s pronouncements or framing of Taiwan.
