Taiwan is exploring the possibility of acquiring F-35 fighter jets and other advanced US weaponry, but pundits doubt the plan will get past Washington’s long-held concerns about military technology leaking into the hands of the People’s Liberation Army. According to a recent Financial Times report, Taipei has reached out to president-elect Donald Trump’s team about … 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
Revelations that a US defence contractor overcharged Taiwan hundreds of millions of dollars sparked concerns that the island has been treated like a “sucker”, prompting Taipei, in turn, to decry what it says are efforts to manipulate anti-US scepticism. The price gouging came to light this year after a US federal audit of RTX, formerly … Read more
Taiwan’s leader William Lai Ching-te said in a speech on Double Tenth Day that mainland China has no authority to represent the island as the two sides are not subordinate to each other – remarks that are likely to provoke Beijing. In marking the 113th anniversary of its founding Lai said, “The Republic of China … Read more
Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer and Apple’s biggest iPhone assembler, has been benefiting from the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, as it assembles servers used to process AI systems. “We’re building the largest GB200 production facility on the planet,” said Benjamin Ting, senior vice-president at the cloud enterprise solutions business group of Foxconn, formally … Read more
Former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen will leave on a trip to the Czech Republic and two other European countries this week as part of an eight-day visit to reinforce the island’s ties with Europe, despite likely objections from Beijing. Tsai will depart on Saturday for her first overseas trip since leaving office. The visit was … Read more
There is a saying among chefs: if you can make it in Hong Kong, you can make it anywhere. Hong Kong has one of the highest densities of restaurants per capita in the world. And according to the 2019 Time Out Index, 92 per cent of people had dined out in the week leading to … 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
Taiwan is making a further push towards war readiness with renewed focus on its civil defence capacities, a move analysts fear may further provoke the mainland. The island has set clear goals to strengthen its civil defence capabilities as part of the mandate of a special committee created in June by Taiwan’s leader, William Lai … Read more
