Former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou will visit mainland China later this month, his third visit in the past two years, in another push to promote people-to-people exchanges amid elevated cross-strait tensions. Ma will lead a delegation of Taiwanese youth to visit the cities of Harbin in the northeast and Chengdu in the southwest on a … Read more
US president-elect Donald Trump made Taiwan a focal point of his 2024 campaign, advocating increased defence spending by the island and casting a critical eye on its semiconductor dominance. While some Taiwanese officials have dismissed these statements as campaign rhetoric, Trump’s repeated calls for Taiwan to pay “protection fees” and increase its defence spending to … Read more
Taiwan has signed contracts to purchase nearly 1,000 killer drones from the United States, bolstering its asymmetric warfare capabilities amid rising cross-strait tensions. According to a government procurement website, the Taiwanese army signed two contracts with the American Institute in Taiwan, Washington’s de facto embassy in Taipei, on Tuesday. The contracts, valued at a total … Read more
President Xi Jinping used his annual National Day address on Monday to send a strong warning to “separatists” on Taiwan and to emphasise backing for Hong Kong and Macau. Taiwan was “China’s sacred territory” and “the people on both sides of the [Taiwan] Strait are connected by blood”, Xi said at an official event in … Read more
Mainland and Taiwanese officials met soon after the incident, holding 15 rounds of talks, but the negotiations stalled in March. The incident added fuel to the flames of cross-strait relations, with the Taiwanese coastguard accusing the men of trespassing in restricted waters and mainland officials accusing the island’s authorities of “rough dispersal of the fishing … Read more
It follows the interception of the Da Jin Man 88 fishing boat by two mainland coastguard vessels late on Tuesday. Mainland officers boarded the boat for inspection and instructed the Taiwanese captain and four crew members – one Taiwanese and three Indonesians – to head towards the mainland coastal city of Jinjiang in Fujian province. … Read more
Observers have suggested that by showcasing Ma’s visit, China is sending a message to Lai and reaffirming its pursuit of peaceful reunification with Taiwan, despite escalating tensions that have caused concern among regional powers and Western nations. Both sides sought to strike a conciliatory tone. “There is no grudge that cannot be resolved. No problem … Read more
His remarks came amid soaring cross-strait tensions. Beijing has denounced Lai as a “troublemaker” and an “obstinate separatist”, and has tried to downplay the significance of the ruling party’s electoral victory. The DPP won just 40 per cent of the ballot and lost its majority in the legislature. Earlier this month, Taiwan’s former leader Ma … Read more
On Tuesday, citing bad weather, the Kinmen Defence Command, which had been set to stage the drills, put off the exercises, which include using land-based weapons to fire at sea. “We need to postpone the drills due to adverse weather conditions,” an officer at the Kinmen Defence Command said by phone. “Shooting training at land-based … Read more
To retrieve the two surviving fishermen, a 10-member delegation arrived in Quemoy, led by Li Zhaohui, deputy director of the Taiwan Affairs Office in Quanzhou, Fujian province. The group, which also included six bereaved family members, a lawyer and two local Red Cross officials, organised the passage of the two survivors back to Quanzhou on … Read more
