The slogan “Ukraine today, Taiwan tomorrow” has become a rallying cry since 2022, drawing parallels between Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and China’s increasing military intimidation of Taiwan. With U.S. foreign policy under a second Trump administration tilting more toward Russia, the future of these two flashpoints remains uncertain. Are Ukraine and Taiwan on increasingly similar trajectories? What lessons emerge from these crises, and how might they shape strategic responses?

Speaker: Alicia Chen, an award-winning journalist from Taiwan, has covered the war in Ukraine and reported from Taiwan for The Washington Post amid escalating tensions with China. Having directly witnessed the complexities of both situations, she will share her on-the-ground experiences and examine where the comparisons hold—and where they fall short.

Moderator: Elizabeth Wood, Ford International Professor of History at MIT, founding director of the MIT Ukraine Program, and co-director of the MIT-Eurasia Program.