Katsuji Nakazawa is a Tokyo-based senior staff and editorial writer at Nikkei. He spent seven years in China as a correspondent and later as China bureau chief. He was the 2014 recipient of the Vaughn-Ueda International Journalist prize.

Every time Chinese President Xi Jinping goes tough on Taiwan, it ironically helps Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in elections. (Nikkei montage/Getty Images/Xinhua/Kyodo)
Xi's dangerous game of chicken risks triggering larger conflict