On 13 January 2024, Taiwanese voters will head to the polls and choose a successor to current President Tsai Ing-wen. Questions about cultivating friendlier ties with China or strengthening Taiwan’s own identity and sovereignty have dominated past elections, and it is no different this time around. With geopolitical tensions on the rise, this electoral contest could mark a turning point in the island's future.

The outcome, depending on whether the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Kuomintang (KMT), or the Taiwan People's Party (TTP) emerges victorious, will carry distinct implications – for Taiwan, but also beyond. What are the broader implications of the election results for Taiwan's overall foreign policy, especially concerning U.S.-China-Taiwan relations? What reactions are we seeing coming from Beijing and Washington following the election, and what are possible future scenarios for U.S.-China-Taiwan relations after the votes have been cast? And why should Europe, and Switzerland, be paying close attention?

In this closed-door Executive Roundtable, scheduled just five days post-election, Dr. Simona Grano, TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, will assess the outcome of Taiwan’s Presidential election of 2024 and their broader implications for the region – and the world. Daniel Daeniker, Partner at Asia Society Switzerland's Corporate Member Homburger, will moderate the roundtable conversation.

Agenda

11:45   Registration / Flying lunch

12:15   Roundtable starts

13:15   Drinks and networking

13:45   Event ends

This roundtable is held in collaboration with our Corporate Member Homburger.

Seats are limited so an early registration is recommended. A light lunch will be served prior to the roundtable discussion.

This event is invitation only. Want to receive an invitation? Become a Passport Member today and receive regular invitations to our Executive Roundtables and other exclusive events. More information here.
 

Simona Grano is TOY Senior Fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis, where she focuses on Taiwan issues and the January 2024 elections.

She is also Senior Lecturer at the University of Zurich and Director of the Taiwan Studies Project at the same institution. She completed her Ph.D. in Chinese Studies at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy in 2008. Since then she has held research positions and taught China Studies and Taiwan Studies at her alma mater, at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and at National Cheng'chi University in Taiwan. She is a research fellow of the European Research Center on Contemporary Taiwan (ERCCT), in Tübingen, Germany and a research associate of SOAS, London.

Simona is the author of  Environmental Governance in Taiwan: a new generation of activists and stakeholders, published in 2015 by Routledge. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Civil Society, Journal of Current Chinese Affairs, China Information, Asiatische Studien, Taiwan in Comparative Perspective, Orizzonte Cina. Her latest edited volume: China-US Competition: Impact on Small and Middle Powers' Strategic Choices, was published by Palgrave Macmillan in December 2022.

Daniel Daeniker (b. 1963) is the Senior Partner of Homburger AG, one of Switzerland's leading law firms based in Zurich. His practice focuses on mergers & acquisitions, corporate governance, equity capital markets and financial services regulation.

Daniel Daeniker spent most of his professional career with Homburger AG. He joined the firm as a trainee in 1988, after growing up in the USA and Switzerland and gaining professional experience in Panama and Hong Kong. Daniel became a partner in 2000, was head of the Corporate / M&A practice group from 2009 to 2014, and Managing Partner from 2013 to 2019. Today, in addition to being Senior Partner, he is head of the India focus group of Homburger.

Daniel is a non-executive director of dormakaba Holding AG, listed in Switzerland, where he is a member of the Audit Committee; and of Hilti AG, Liechtenstein, where he also is in the Audit Committee.

Daniel studied law at the University of Neuchâtel and later at the University of Zurich, from where he graduated in 1987 and obtained a doctorate in 1992. He was admitted to the Zurich bar in 1990. He also studied at The Law School of the University of Chicago (LL.M. 1996). Daniel is a lecturer in law at the University of Zurich and a member of the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School. He is active in various non-profit organizations, including as Chair of the Donor Foundation of Avenir Suisse, an independent Swiss free-market think tank, and as a member of the advisory board of the Asia Society Switzerland.