William Kazer has covered Asian politics and economics for more than 30 years, including as a senior correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones News based in Beijing. He also worked as a correspondent and editor for Reuters in Beijing where he covered the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests in 1989 and had postings in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, and Bangkok, as well as New York. Kazer helped Reuters set up its Chinese-language financial newswire and has worked as a consultant and adviser in the media sector in China. He studied Chinese at the State University of Buffalo and the University of Wisconsin and is currently a freelance writer living in New York.

Last Updated: January 20, 2016

Viewpoint

02.10.17

Taiwan Needs to Hear Trump Say ‘Democracy’

William Kazer
President Trump has sent conflicting signals on Taiwan, first suggesting cozier relations with the self-ruled island and then walking that back to reassure China.In a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, he pledged no change to...

Conversation

12.05.16

Should Washington Recalibrate Relations with Taipei?

Yu-Jie Chen, J. Michael Cole & more
On Friday, Donald Trump shocked the China-watching world when news broke that he had spoken on the phone to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. The call was remarkable not for its content—Tsai’s office said she told Trump she hoped the United States “...

Viewpoint

01.21.16

After a Landslide Election, Now Comes the Hard Part for Taiwan's President

William Kazer
Taiwan elected its first woman president on Saturday in a landslide victory that brought a nominally pro-independence party back to power after eight years in opposition.Tsai Ing-wen led her Democratic Progressive Party to a thumping victory,...