Recently, an official Chinese paper, the International Herald Leader, carried a report on “sharpening contradictions” in various areas of Chinese society, including standards of living and culture. The report lists 50 types of what it calls “seriously strange phenomena.”

Taiwan is the latest in a series of countries to launch a ‘gastro-diplomacy’ campaign, which means using food to spread awareness of culture. The drive seeks to promote understanding of Taiwanese culture via such local cuisine as stinky tofu and sea-salt lattes. To learn more about gastro-diplomacy, I spoke to Mr. Paul Rockower, a research fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy...

Taiwan has become the latest country to launch a diplomatic drive based around its national cuisine. President Ma Ying-jeou has ordered his envoys to start talking the language of food by launching a £20m "gastro-diplomacy" campaign in the UK and elsewhere.

While the global community has been busy parading at the Shanghai Expo 2010, for Taiwan, simply taking part in the world’s fair is meaningful. It has been nearly 40 years since the island has been able to join the global showcase, when the Republic of China last participated at the Osaka Expo in 1970 during a period when Taipei still held official diplomatic relations with Tokyo.

While the global community has been busy parading at the Shanghai Expo 2010, for Taiwan, simply taking part in the world’s fair is meaningful. It has been nearly 40 years since the island has been able to join the global showcase, when the Republic of China last participated at the Osaka Expo in 1970 during a period when Taipei still held official diplomatic relations with Tokyo.

Visiting Swaziland King Mswati III says his country will continue supporting Taiwan's bid to join UN-affiliated international organizations.

A number of youth groups from Taiwan are traveling to Central America during their summer vacation to increase cultural understanding between the two sides. A foreign ministry official, Abel Lin, spoke about the purpose of the trips on Thursday.

More recently, Taiwan is trying to expand on its reputation and gastro-brand through an initiative to promote Taiwan through enhanced culinary diplomacy.Gastrodiplomacy is predicated on the notion that the easiest path to winning hearts and minds is found through stomachs.