In a rare move, Taiwan’s military is using a Taipei university campus to train reservists to prepare for the possibility of urban warfare against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), prompting concerns and criticism. Taiwan’s defence minister, however, defended the decision, emphasising the need to consider frontline conditions to deter PLA attacks. National Chengchi University (NCCU) … 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
Students from seven leading mainland Chinese universities, including two Olympic champions, will visit Taiwan later this month at the invitation of the island’s former leader Ma Ying-jeou. According to Ma Ying-jeou Foundation director Hsiao Hsu-tsen, the 40-strong delegation of students and faculty members will arrive in Taiwan on November 27 for a nine-day visit. The … Read more
A ruling by Taiwan’s grand justices against opposition-led reforms to increase legislative oversight is expected to deepen political divides and make life more complicated for William Lai Ching-te’s administration. Opposition leaders described the ruling – that almost all of the proposed reforms were unconstitutional – as a “disgrace” and the “death of judicial integrity”. The … Read more
Authorities in Taiwan are under pressure to scrap a two-decade-old provision that allows high school students to be enlisted into wartime non-combat service. Under the island’s All-Out Defence Mobilisation Readiness Act of 2001, minors can be mobilised for the non-combat youth service corps during conflicts and natural disasters. But after volunteer consent forms for the … Read more
Beijing has accused Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te of escalating hostility after his recent comments that the People’s Republic of China could not be the island’s motherland. Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said Lai had not only tried to deceive and intimidate the Taiwan people, harming their interests, but was … Read more
Congratulatory National Day messages from two Taiwanese stars famous for their past criticisms of Beijing’s policies have caused controversy on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Wu Kang-ren – who won best actor prize at last year’s Golden Horse film awards for his role in Abang Adik – marked the 75th anniversary of the People’s … Read more
The logo for the island’s official events and publicity materials is in red, white and blue, the colours of its flag, and features a red plum blossom, the symbol of the Republic of China (ROC), the island’s official title. Double Tenth Day, celebrated on October 10, commemorates the start of the 1911 revolution that led … Read more
Taiwanese prosecutors raided the home of leading opposition politician Ko Wen-je on Friday over accusations of corruption stemming from his time as mayor of Taipei. Ko, the leader of the opposition Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who ran against the island’s leader William Lai Ching-te in January’s election, was questioned by investigators from the Agency Against … Read more
Mouldy armour and expired ammunition were among “unserviceable” US military equipment delivered to Taiwan recently, and the island’s defence ministry says it is looking into the issue. The items in question were delivered between November and March under the US Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA). The shipments included 120 water-damaged pallets containing more than 3,000 body … Read more
