Former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou has begun a nine-day trip to mainland China – his third in two years – amid accusations from pro-independence voices that he is compromising the self-ruled island’s interests. Ma’s delegation, which includes a group of Taiwanese university students, was greeted by municipal officials and well-wishers at the airport when they … Read more
A push by Taiwan’s main opposition party to improve cross-strait relations is coming under pressure from the island’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The annual Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum – set for Tuesday – hangs in the balance as Taipei mayor Wayne Chiang Wan-an faces growing demands to cancel the event if Beijing continues to … Read more
The defence ministry said it had detected 47 mainland Chinese warplanes near Taiwan in the 24 hours to 6am on Tuesday – the largest number since the PLA simulated a blockade of the island on October 14 in an exercise dubbed Joint Sword-2024B. The PLA sent 153 warplanes for that drill. In the latest exercise, … Read more
Former Taiwanese legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng, a political heavyweight from the main opposition Kuomintang party, has proposed a new cross-strait framework that he says aims to reduce tensions and promote peace. Wang’s concept of “separate governance without division” seeks to establish a situation where Taiwan and mainland China can coexist while maintaining separate governance, yet … Read more
Officials from Shanghai will visit Taipei for the first time in six years to take part in a forum meant to encourage cross-strait communication. Shanghai vice-mayor Hua Yuan will head a mainland delegation taking part in the two-day Shanghai-Taipei City Forum, Taipei city government spokesman Yin Wei said on Wednesday morning. Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an, … Read more
The Dutch chipmaker and its Taiwanese partner Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp (VIS) on Wednesday broke ground on a joint chip plant in Singapore’s east region. The partners are already working on a phase-two expansion, NXP executive vice-president Andy Micallef told Bloomberg News on the sidelines of the ceremony, though he said that addition has yet … Read more
Taiwan changed its air raid warning threshold to respond to the PLA’s tactics, the island’s defence minister said on Monday, amid concerns that the decision leaves the public with less time to take shelter during a cross-strait conflict. In the past, the island would issue an air raid alert if People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft … Read more
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
“I am confident that the long-standing Taiwan-US partnership, based on shared values and interests, will continue to serve as a cornerstone of regional stability and lead to greater prosperity for us all,” Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said on Wednesday in a congratulatory message to Donald Trump on his re-election as the US president. Lai … Read more
