The People’s Daily published a commentary on Thursday that vowed to uproot the “historical narrative of Taiwan independence” – a narrative it said has been pushed by Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te. The warning came after Lai used the Friday anniversary of Taiwan’s return to China from imperial Japan after World War II to commemorate … 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
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
A Taiwanese political activist has been sentenced to nine years in prison in mainland China on charges of “separatism”, a cross-strait first prompting an official travel warning from Taipei. Yang Chih-yuan, 34, was formally arrested in April last year, eight months after being detained in the eastern mainland city of Wenzhou. According to the Taiwan … Read more
His promotion of the “mutual non-subordination” theory to define Taiwan’s relationship with Beijing has raised concerns among observers, who fear it could further strain cross-strait ties and potentially lead to conflict. In his three major speeches on cross-strait relations since taking office, Lai has consistently stressed his view that the two sides of the Taiwan … Read more
According to information released last week by the government procurement website, the contractors will be building one base each in Tainan and Kaohsiung, and two in Pingtung, all counties facing the mainland across the Taiwan Strait. Work on the Tainan base began last Wednesday, and construction for the other three should start soon, the website … Read more
Cabinet spokesman Chen Shih-kai said the submarines would be built between 2025 and 2038 as part of the Indigenous Defence Submarine Programme. “The government is committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, continually enhancing national defence capabilities, and implementing policies such as indigenous vessel and aircraft production to build a resilient Taiwan … Read more
The remark was a reference to a long-abandoned plan by the Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to “recover” the mainland after his Kuomintang (KMT) forces lost a civil war with the Communists and fled to the island in 1949 to set up an interim government. Before he died in 1975, Chiang had vowed to use Taiwan … Read more
In the latest such face-off, a mainland Chinese research ship came within 20 nautical miles (37km) of Taiwan’s northeastern Yilan county on July 7 before being warned off by Taiwanese coastguard. The Tan Kah Kee, also known as the Jia Geng, is a 3,600-tonne seismic vessel equipped with acoustic sensors and weather radars, and is … Read more
A senior Taiwanese official involved in mainland affairs has resigned as head of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) following a bribery investigation. Cheng Wen-tsan, a former vice-premier of Taiwan who became chairman of the foundation under the Mainland Affairs Council on June 7, announced his resignation on Sunday, saying he did not want to disrupt … Read more
