For a decade, former Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan stood out as a political survivor while colleague after close colleague fell in China’s far-reaching anti-corruption campaign. Throughout that time, including his seven years as the megacity’s mayor from 2009 to 2016, Huang was seen as a “tumbler” in Chinese politics – a weighted doll that wobbles but never falls over. The nickname was well-deserved – he served under six municipal Communist Party secretaries, watching two of them – Bo Xilai and...

Beijing has warned Taiwanese people against acting “two-faced” on the issue of “Taiwan independence” after television host Kevin Tsai Kang-yong attended a campaign rally for a Taipei mayoral candidate labelled a separatist by Beijing. The episode underscores the political risks facing Taiwanese entertainers working on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. “No individual or force may act as a ‘two-faced person’ – reaping the benefits of the mainland’s development while simultaneously colluding with...