Taiwan
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President Lai Ching-te pledged on Friday (Feb 14) to talk with the United States about President Donald Trump’s concerns over the chip industry and to invest more in and buy more from the country, while ramping up defence spending. Trump spoke critically about Taiwan on Thursday, saying he aimed to restore US manufacturing of semiconductor chips and…
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Taiwan’s intelligence bureau says China’s main spy agency is working with criminal gangs, shell companies and other dubious partners to gain intelligence on Taiwan’s defences, resulting in a major rise in those arrested for alleged espionage on the island. Current and retired Taiwanese military personnel are a special concern, accounting for around half of the…
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A police officer who was a member of a special service in charge of presidential security has been suspended and detained on suspicion of “leaking secrets”, officials said on Thursday (Dec 19). The man, identified only by his family name of Tsao, was on secondment from the Special Police Sixth Headquarters since May 20, when President…
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The Chinese mainland will continue to support and promote exchanges between young people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday. The mainland will consistently create more platforms and opportunities for mutual learning, interaction, and connection among youth, enabling them to contribute greater efforts to the peaceful and integrated development of…
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US President-elect Donald Trump’s second presidency – with his hawkish cabinet picks – could change the dynamics of US-Taiwan relations, as well as the calculations behind China’s strategy towards the self-ruled island, say analysts. This comes as Beijing evolves its military strategy to blockade Taiwan, a tactic that observers believe is designed to intensify pressure…
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A Chinese military spokesperson on Tuesday condemned Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for courting the United States to buy weapons, saying they are only wasting the hard-earned money of people in the region. Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks when commenting on media reports about an accusation…
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The United States and China resumed semi-official nuclear arms talks in March for the first time in five years, with Beijing’s representatives telling U.S. counterparts that they would not resort to atomic threats over Taiwan, according to two American delegates who attended. The Chinese representatives offered reassurances after their U.S. interlocutors raised concerns that China…
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A powerful earthquake jolted Hualien County in China’s Taiwan region on Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of at least nine people and leaving hundreds injured, according to local authorities. It was described as “the strongest quake the region has seen since 1999” by an official from the local earthquake center during a press conference. The…
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The main mission of the US Army flotilla now sailing toward Gaza is to build a floating pier that will help ships offload desperately-needed humanitarian aid. But the task force also serves a secondary purpose: it’s practice for a critical combat operation – one that could help US forces to roll back Chinese advances in the…
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Taiwan’s vice president-elect and former de facto ambassador to Washington, Hsiao Bi-khim, is currently in the United States for a private visit, triggering objections from China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. Chinese Embassy Spokesperson Liu Pengyu expressed China’s firm opposition to any official interaction between the U.S. and Taiwan, labeling Hsiao Bi-khim as…
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Taiwan firmly defended its coast guard’s actions recently following a fatal incident involving a Chinese speedboat near a frontline Taiwanese island. Two individuals onboard the Chinese vessel lost their lives after their boat capsized while attempting to evade a Taiwanese coast guard ship. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office accused Taiwan of subjecting Chinese fishermen to “rough…
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Taiwan’s defense ministry has announced the detection of six additional Chinese balloons flying over the Taiwan Strait, with one of them crossing the island. This recent incident is part of a series of balloon sightings over the past month-and-a-half. In a statement earlier in January, Taiwan’s defense ministry strongly criticized China for jeopardizing aviation safety…
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This week, a U.S. Navy sailor, Petty Officer Wenheng “Thomas” Zhao, was sentenced to 27 months in jail for accepting nearly US$15,000 in bribes from a Chinese intelligence officer in exchange for photos of unclassified private U.S. military information. In a statement, the U.S. justice department said that Zhao, 26, who worked at Naval Base…
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The candidate for Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT), Hou Yu-ih, conceded defeat in the election. Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party, which champions Taiwan’s separate identity and rejects China’s territorial claims, was seeking a third term, unprecedented under Taiwan’s current electoral system. Lai was facing two opponents for the presidency – the KMT’s Hou and…
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait during a meeting with a senior Chinese diplomat on Friday, as the Biden administration seeks to mitigate tensions over Taiwan while the island holds its presidential election. Blinken sat down with Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Communist Party’s international minister.…
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Running for political office in Taiwan was never the plan for 72-year-old Hong Kong immigrant Chui Pak-tai, but the former pro-democracy district councilor in the former British colony hopes to put the Hong Kong issue back onto the Taiwan public agenda. During Taiwan’s last presidential election, in 2020, protests against the Hong Kong government’s proposal…
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