https://www.scmp.com/rss/500757/feed Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected as president of Taiwan on January 11, 2020. Tsai, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), captured more than 8 million votes, trumping her major challenger, Han Kuo-yu, from the mainland-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) by close to 3 million votes. People First Party chairman James Soong garnered less than 600,000 votes. The Taiwan poll also covered the 113 seats in the 10th Legislative Yuan. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Authorities in Taiwan are urging the public to buy pineapples and support growers as a ban on imports into mainland China takes effect. Beijing announced the ban on Taiwan’s pineapples on Friday, citing the discovery of pests on the Taiwanese imports “on multiple occasions” since last year. The surprise announcement, which took effect on Monday, has fuelled public resentment on the island. Relations with the mainland have soured since Tsai Ing-wen of the independence-leaning Democratic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3123615/chinas-ban-taiwanese-pineapples-sours-sentiment-towards-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3123615/chinas-ban-taiwanese-pineapples-sours-sentiment-towards-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Mar 2021 10:04:16 +0000 Taiwan’s main opposition party the Kuomintang has revived its long-stalled plan to re-establish its presence in Washington as part of its efforts to regain support in the United States. It plans to reopen its representative office, shut down in 2008, and re-establish, aiming to increase its connections with US politicians, influential think tanks and Taiwanese people in the US, according to senior KMT officials. “We have recently set up a preparatory team with the goal of reopening the office in... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3121592/taiwans-opposition-kmt-seeks-foothold-us-it-too-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3121592/taiwans-opposition-kmt-seeks-foothold-us-it-too-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Feb 2021 02:00:10 +0000 A popular talk show host once considered a star in the world of Taiwanese politics has rejoined the island’s main opposition party after almost 30 years away, in what observers say could signal the start of a run for the presidency in 2024. Jaw Shaw-kong announced his return to the Kuomintang (KMT) on Monday. He left it in 1993 to form the New Party, which advocates Taiwan’s reunification with mainland China. The 70-year-old left politics altogether in 1996, two years after losing the Taipei... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3120774/taiwan-needs-strong-leader-talk-show-host-jaw-shaw-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3120774/taiwan-needs-strong-leader-talk-show-host-jaw-shaw-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Feb 2021 04:00:20 +0000 Beijing has pledged to use what it sees as its political and economic strengths to contain pro-independence forces in Taiwan, identifying it as a key task for the Communist Party’s centenary year. Wang Yang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, China’s top leadership body, told officials from the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office to work to promote cross-strait unity and respond quickly to the “grave and complicated” situation, according to a report by the party mouthpiece People’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3118363/chinese-leadership-says-country-must-use-its-strengths-curb-pro?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3118363/chinese-leadership-says-country-must-use-its-strengths-curb-pro?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Jan 2021 11:08:22 +0000 Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have risen to a pitch not seen for decades since the re-election of President Tsai Ing-wen of the Taiwan-centric Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Given a powerful mandate with a record number of votes over Han Kuo-yu, her pro-Beijing opponent from the Kuomintang (KMT), Tsai has also benefited from her government’s enviable response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has positioned Taiwan as a leader in combating the disease and earned the country unprecedented... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116456/beijing-ramping-pressure-taiwan-undermine-tsai-ing-wens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116456/beijing-ramping-pressure-taiwan-undermine-tsai-ing-wens?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:45:13 +0000 China’s military has accused the United States of jeopardising peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait by sending a guided missile destroyer through the waterway on Saturday. “Recently, US warships have sailed through the Taiwan Strait from time to time,” Zhang Chunhui, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command, said in a statement. “They have deliberately raised the heat of the Taiwan issue … [and] sent flirtatious glances to Taiwan’s independence forces, severely... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3114690/china-us-ties-american-warship-jeopardised-stability-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3114690/china-us-ties-american-warship-jeopardised-stability-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Dec 2020 08:00:10 +0000 The Taiwanese military suffered big losses in both personnel and morale in 2020, with some observers linking it to pressure from mainland China. A total of 15 people were killed in five accidents during routine exercises – the highest number since Tsai Ing-wen was elected president in 2016. Among them was Taiwan’s chief of the general staff Shen Yi-ming, who was one of eight people who died when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in early January. In previous years, Taiwan’s military has had only... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3114615/taiwan-counts-15-lives-lost-2020-and-rising-military-cost-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3114615/taiwan-counts-15-lives-lost-2020-and-rising-military-cost-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Dec 2020 22:00:18 +0000 The People’s Liberation Army would deploy two of its main battle tanks in street combat in a possible war against Taiwan, according to mainland Chinese state television reporting on a recent military exercise. In a documentary aired by CCTV last week, Type 96A main battle tanks and Type 04 infantry fighting vehicles were shown engaged in a mock combat exercise. The weapons were designed to fight in the complex terrain of Taiwan’s cities and counties, highlighting the PLA’s belief that a street... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3114228/china-puts-tanks-test-mock-street-battle-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3114228/china-puts-tanks-test-mock-street-battle-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Dec 2020 01:00:16 +0000 Employees and supporters rallied for a Taiwanese pro-Chinese mainland cable news channel as it was taken off air on Saturday, after the government refused to renew its licence, citing accuracy issues. CTiTV’s channel 52 broadcast a countdown and then went black after midnight. The cable network, whose non-news channels were not affected, plans to continue putting news on YouTube and other digital platforms. A large crowd chanted: “Hang on, CTiTV” and held up signs reading: “Thank you CTiTV, we... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3113697/taiwanese-pro-beijing-television-news-channel-taken-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3113697/taiwanese-pro-beijing-television-news-channel-taken-air?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Dec 2020 04:49:36 +0000 A retired professor from Taiwan has been sentenced by a mainland court to four years in prison on spying-related charges. The ruling against Shih Cheng-ping, a retired National Taiwan Normal University professor, was confirmed by Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian at the regular press conference on Tuesday. Zhu said Shih was deprived of his political rights for two years as part of the sentence, which was passed by the Maanshan Intermediate People’s Court in Anhui province,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3111344/first-four-accused-taiwanese-spies-sentenced-prison-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3111344/first-four-accused-taiwanese-spies-sentenced-prison-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Nov 2020 11:00:13 +0000 Taiwan has vowed to respect whatever decisions are made by America as the United States presidential election hangs in the balance. The office of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday dismissed a local news report that Tsai – known for her close relationship with US President Donald Trump’s administration – had to come up with response strategies in the event the US leadership changed. “The presidential office, national security and other relevant agencies are closely following and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3108601/taiwanese-president-watching-american-election-denies-devising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3108601/taiwanese-president-watching-american-election-denies-devising?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Nov 2020 09:01:44 +0000 The fate of Taiwanese cable channel CTi News hangs in the balance as the media regulator reviews its licence application amid allegations it is operating as a propaganda machine for Beijing. There have been growing calls for the channel to be taken off the air because of its pro-Beijing stance and constant criticism of the Tsai Ing-wen government, including unverified news reports. But critics say shutting down the station would be a blow for press freedom in the self-ruled island. CTi is owned... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3107855/taiwanese-cable-channel-cti-accused-pro-beijing-fake-news?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3107855/taiwanese-cable-channel-cti-accused-pro-beijing-fake-news?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Oct 2020 08:00:21 +0000 Nearly 100 civilian vessels from mainland China including sand dredgers have converged on waters close to Taiwan’s Matsu archipelago, in what observers say is the latest effort to intimidate the self-ruled island. According to Taiwan’s coastguard, the boats were seen in waters off Renai on Nangan Island on Sunday night. It said patrol ships were sent to disperse four sand carriers and one dredger that had crossed into Taiwanese waters. “We managed to drive away the five vessels last night,” a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3107153/taiwan-coastguard-drives-away-chinese-vessels-including-sand?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3107153/taiwan-coastguard-drives-away-chinese-vessels-including-sand?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Oct 2020 13:45:13 +0000 Three retired Taiwanese military officers, including a major general, are under investigation in Taiwan over alleged spying activities involving mainland China, the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office said. It comes days after Beijing said it had cracked hundreds of espionage cases and caught many alleged Taiwanese spies in a special operation. Taiwanese investigators searched the homes of the three retired officers on Tuesday and they were taken in for questioning, according to the prosecutor’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3106324/retired-taiwanese-military-officers-under-investigation-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3106324/retired-taiwanese-military-officers-under-investigation-over?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:42:37 +0000 Beijing will crack down and punish Taiwanese efforts to infiltrate and damage Chinese interests, according to a commentary by Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily on Thursday. Titled “Stand on the right side of the history”, the commentary also made an appeal to workers in Taiwan’s intelligence community who supported eventual reunification to stay away from pro-independence personnel and join hands with Beijing. The commentary comes after reports about espionage activities by Taiwanese... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105617/beijing-will-crack-down-over-taiwans-crazy-yet-futile-spy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105617/beijing-will-crack-down-over-taiwans-crazy-yet-futile-spy?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Oct 2020 07:00:16 +0000 A second detained Taiwanese man has appeared on Chinese state television supposedly confessing to espionage activities, after Taipei warned Beijing to stop entrapping its citizens and fabricating crimes against them. Cheng Yu-chin, who previously taught at Charles University in the Czech Republic, was shown on state broadcaster CCTV on Monday evening addressing accusations that he had engaged in Taiwanese independence activities and spied for Taiwanese intelligence agencies. In the programme,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105310/another-taiwanese-spy-confession-aired-chinese-state-tv-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105310/another-taiwanese-spy-confession-aired-chinese-state-tv-after?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Oct 2020 09:05:02 +0000 Taiwan has accused Beijing of “malicious political sensationalism” after airing the supposed confession of a man accused of spying. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said late on Sunday that the Chinese Communist Party had engaged in “deliberate manipulation” in the case of Lee Meng-chu, who was detained in what was described as a broader crackdown on Taiwanese spies. It also accused the mainland authorities of damaging cross-strait relations and interfering in Taiwan’s democracy. “The [council]... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105132/taiwan-accuses-beijing-malicious-sensationalism-after-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3105132/taiwan-accuses-beijing-malicious-sensationalism-after-chinese?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Oct 2020 06:23:57 +0000 Taiwan said it scrambled fighter jets on Thursday evening to ward off a Chinese warplane that had entered its air defence identification zone (ADIZ) near a group of islets administered by Taipei. The PLA Air Force Y-8 surveillance aircraft entered the southwest sector of the zone close to the Pratas Islands – known as the Dongsha Islands in mainland China – the defence ministry said. The fighters were scrambled and warnings were broadcast telling the PLA warplane to leave the area, it said in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3103944/taiwan-scrambles-fighter-jets-after-pla-spy-plane-enters-air?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3103944/taiwan-scrambles-fighter-jets-after-pla-spy-plane-enters-air?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Oct 2020 06:32:16 +0000 A new deal signed by the US and Taiwan to cooperate on infrastructure development in Southeast Asia and Latin America will help them to reshape the global supply chain and reduce their dependence on mainland China, analysts say. The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) – the United States’ de facto embassy on the island – and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US, signed the “Framework to Strengthen Infrastructure Finance and Market Building Cooperation” on... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3103837/us-taiwan-infrastructure-investment-deal-aims-reduce?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3103837/us-taiwan-infrastructure-investment-deal-aims-reduce?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 01 Oct 2020 15:00:15 +0000 After a year of electoral tragedy, Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang invited Hong Kong comic actor Stanley Fung Shui-fan to speak at the first of a series of forums on Wednesday designed to help revive the party’s fortunes. Addressing the public at the first of the KMT’s “democracy salons” in Taipei, Fung said he still identified as a supporter of the party despite his great disappointment with it. “The KMT is a historical and revolutionary party which set up the Republic of China,” Fung said,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3103720/taiwans-kmt-turns-comic-actor-tackle-election-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3103720/taiwans-kmt-turns-comic-actor-tackle-election-tragedy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Sep 2020 11:18:30 +0000 Taiwan has test-fired missiles off its eastern and southern coasts following military manoeuvres staged by Beijing near the self-ruled island in recent days. The Thursday night test was part of a two-day programme by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology to examine the power of missiles launched from the eastern county of Taitung and the Jiupeng military base in the island’s southernmost county of Pingtung. Another test is expected to be held on Friday night, according to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3102990/tensions-rise-across-taiwan-strait-taipei-test-fires-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3102990/tensions-rise-across-taiwan-strait-taipei-test-fires-missiles?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Sep 2020 04:00:36 +0000 US undersecretary of state Keith Krach met business and political leaders including President Tsai Ing-wen on the second day of a visit to Taiwan that has enraged Beijing. Krach – the most senior State Department representative to visit the island in 41 years – held a closed-door meeting with officials led by Vice-Premier Shen Jong-chin and Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua on Friday, to exchange views on US-Taiwan economic ties. They also discussed a new economic dialogue that was... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3102162/us-diplomat-keith-krach-meets-taiwanese-leaders-new-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3102162/us-diplomat-keith-krach-meets-taiwanese-leaders-new-dialogue?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2020 14:00:08 +0000 China has protested over a historic meeting between US ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft and the head of Taiwan’s de facto consulate in New York, as Washington ramps up support for Taipei despite Beijing’s objections. Craft held a lunch meeting on Wednesday with James Lee Kuang-jang, director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in New York and head of Taiwan’s UN Affairs Task Force in the city. It was the first such meeting between a US envoy to the UN and a top... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3102121/china-protests-after-us-envoy-un-meets-taiwanese-official-new?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3102121/china-protests-after-us-envoy-un-meets-taiwanese-official-new?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2020 10:00:13 +0000 The warm reception given to Czech senate president Milos Vystrcil in Taipei just over a week ago has dramatically cooled after he has since denied saying that Taiwan was an independent country, triggering debate among Taiwanese netizens over whether it was worth inviting him, particularly given the island’s donation of 100,000 surgical masks and five mask production lines to his country. In late August, Vystrcil led an 89-member delegation of Czech civic and political leaders to Taipei, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3101253/taiwanese-hurt-czech-politicians-about-face-after-warm-visit-i?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3101253/taiwanese-hurt-czech-politicians-about-face-after-warm-visit-i?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Sep 2020 14:30:11 +0000 The former speaker of Taiwan’s legislature Wang Jin-pyng will lead a delegation to attend an annual cross-strait forum, challenging a ban imposed by the island’s government on the event, which it sees as a united-front ploy aimed at wooing Taiwanese. Wang, who risks being charged with colluding with the Chinese Communists in plotting against Taiwan, will attend the 12th Strait Forum in the mainland city of Xiamen in southeastern Fujian province. The forum is expected to begin on September 19. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3100723/taiwan-opposition-delegates-headed-china-forum-risk-charges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3100723/taiwan-opposition-delegates-headed-china-forum-risk-charges?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Sep 2020 01:00:10 +0000 As voters in the United States prepare for the presidential election in November, the South China Morning Post is exploring the potential ramifications for China. The fifth part of the series looks at shifts in US policy towards Taiwan. A consequence of the Trump administration’s China policy has been a rising confidence in Taiwan that its American allies will shield it from any attack from the mainland, which regards the self-ruled island as a renegade province, to be recovered by force if... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3100702/us-presidential-election-will-strategic-ambiguity-taiwan-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3100702/us-presidential-election-will-strategic-ambiguity-taiwan-be?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Sep 2020 16:05:13 +0000 Czech President Milos Zeman has accused the Senate speaker of a “boyish provocation” for visiting Taiwan as the government sought to calm China’s anger over the trip. Zeman, who has sought closer ties with China since taking office in 2013, also said in an interview with the broadcaster Prima on Sunday that he would stop inviting Milos Vystrcil, a member of a centre-right opposition party, to the meetings of the country’s top foreign policy officials. Vystrcil, the president of the Czech Senate,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3100535/czech-president-milos-zeman-slams-taiwan-visit-boyish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3100535/czech-president-milos-zeman-slams-taiwan-visit-boyish?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Sep 2020 09:30:17 +0000 On August 15, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party regained Kaohsiung in the mayoral by-election, held after failed presidential contender Han Kuo-yu was recalled from the post. The DPP’s Chen Chi-mai, a former vice-premier, pulled just over 70 per cent of votes. The opposition Kuomintang candidate, Li Mei-jhen, who was outed for plagiarising speech notes for her postgraduate thesis, only received 25.9 per cent of the total ballots cast. When drafting my previous letter, “KMT must take... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3100242/taiwans-kmt-get-wake-call-kaohsiung-mayoral-rout?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3100242/taiwans-kmt-get-wake-call-kaohsiung-mayoral-rout?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Sep 2020 23:15:07 +0000 Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, has decided to keep the 1992 consensus on “one China” as part of its cross-strait policy, a move that is certain to please Beijing, which sees the self-ruled island as part of its territory. The vague agreement was reached by unofficial representatives of Beijing and Taipei in Hong Kong nearly three decades ago – that there is only one China, but each side can have its own interpretation of what constitutes “China”. For the KMT, it is the Republic... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3099971/taiwans-opposition-kmt-uphold-one-china-consensus-part-cross?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3099971/taiwans-opposition-kmt-uphold-one-china-consensus-part-cross?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2020 14:17:29 +0000 Are the chickens finally coming home to roost for cocky little Taiwan? Just this week, China’s coastguard intercepted a boatload of bedraggled anti-government activists from Hong Kong with a one-way ticket to Taiwan. All 12 were arrested for illegally entering mainland Chinese waters. Among them was Andy Li, a previously little-known agitator who faces prosecution back home on charges of collusion with foreign forces and money laundering. He is accused of lobbying Western powers to slap... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3099405/why-does-taiwan-treat-fleeing-hong-kong-activists-illegal-immigrants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3099405/why-does-taiwan-treat-fleeing-hong-kong-activists-illegal-immigrants?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Aug 2020 11:53:30 +0000 Washington rekindled an old Taiwanese dream this month when a cabinet member floated the idea of a trade deal with the United States, a goal discussed for the past quarter of a century between the export-reliant Asian economy and its second largest market. At the same time, there are question marks hanging over Taiwan’s 10-year old trade deal with mainland China, which Beijing officials have publicly discussed cancelling as political ties spiral downward. The Taiwanese economy finds itself at a... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3098901/taiwan-stuck-crossroads-us-and-china-over-trade-deals-facing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3098901/taiwan-stuck-crossroads-us-and-china-over-trade-deals-facing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 27 Aug 2020 03:56:49 +0000 A Taiwanese plane maker will on Friday open a maintenance centre for F-16 fighter jets in collaboration with US defence contractor Lockheed Martin, the first such facility in the Indo-Pacific, as tensions across the Taiwan Strait remain high. President Tsai Ing-wen is expected to inaugurate the centre in Taichung, central Taiwan, local newspaper Liberty Times reported on Saturday. Representatives of Lockheed Martin – which is subject to sanctions from Beijing over its arms deal with the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3098655/taiwanese-plane-maker-aidc-open-regions-first-f-16-fighter-jet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3098655/taiwanese-plane-maker-aidc-open-regions-first-f-16-fighter-jet?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:00:23 +0000 Taiwan is tightening rules on mainland investment on the island, barring individual and corporate mainland Chinese investors with links to the government, political parties or the military. The decision follows a ban on settlement on the island by Hong Kong residents with mainland Chinese citizenship and who work for the mainland government, political parties or military. Taiwanese officials said on Thursday that the new regulations were meant to close loopholes and were in line with tighter... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3098200/taiwan-tightens-investment-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3098200/taiwan-tightens-investment-mainland-china?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Aug 2020 16:05:17 +0000 Four mainland Chinese hacking groups have attacked at least 10 Taiwanese government agencies and 6,000 email accounts of officials in a bid to steal important information, according to the self-ruled island. The attacks posed a serious threat to government operations and cybersecurity and a task force had been set up to deal with the case, Taiwan’s Investigation Bureau said on Wednesday. “Our investigation showed that four Chinese-backed groups, which use the names Blacktech, Taidoor,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3098012/mainland-chinese-hackers-attacked-government-agencies-steal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3098012/mainland-chinese-hackers-attacked-government-agencies-steal?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2020 12:45:11 +0000 Beijing may not fight the decision by Taiwan to establish a representative office in Somaliland if the relationship is restricted to commercial ties and not political or diplomatic, analysts say. On Monday, the Taiwanese flag was hoisted in Hargeisa, the capital of the breakaway region of Somaliland in northwest Somalia, marking the official establishment of a representative office in Somaliland. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen called the opening of a representative office, “an important... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097855/beijing-may-tolerate-taiwans-presence-somaliland-unless-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097855/beijing-may-tolerate-taiwans-presence-somaliland-unless-it?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Aug 2020 00:30:20 +0000 “Somaliland, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” The allusion to the closing scene of the Hollywood classic Casablanca, came in a tweet earlier this month from Taiwanese government spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka discussing the burgeoning relationship between the two largely unrecognised states. In July the two governments announced that they had signed a treaty earlier in the year to establish representative offices in each others’ capitals. The move marked a breakthrough for two... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097506/how-taiwan-found-new-friend-africa-through-somaliland?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097506/how-taiwan-found-new-friend-africa-through-somaliland?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Aug 2020 10:00:20 +0000 A series of PLA drills at the northern and southern ends of the Taiwan Strait signal that Beijing is stepping up preparations to take control of the self-ruled island, according to military analysts. Other signs included expansion of coastal military bases and the deployment of amphibious troop units in the area, they said. The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command, which oversees defences in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, said on Thursday that it conducted the drills north... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3097471/pla-drills-point-stepped-plans-take-control-taiwan-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3097471/pla-drills-point-stepped-plans-take-control-taiwan-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Aug 2020 22:00:12 +0000 Former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui, dubbed “Mr Democracy” for ending autocratic rule in favour of free elections, was cremated in a private ceremony on Friday, after his remains were taken on a symbolic last trip around Taipei. Doctors wearing yellow memorial ribbons gathered at a hospital in northern Taipei as the body of Lee, a committed Christian who died last month at 97, was driven downtown, past the presidential office and on to the Chi-Nan Presbyterian Church. Senior government... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3097375/former-taiwanese-president-lee-teng-hui-cremated-after-symbolic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3097375/former-taiwanese-president-lee-teng-hui-cremated-after-symbolic?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Aug 2020 07:09:10 +0000 As the US health secretary was making a high-profile visit to Taiwan, troops from the Chinese mainland delivered a “serious warning” to supporters of independence for the self-ruled island with a series of military drills on its doorstep. The exercises were conducted by the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the mainland from Taiwan, and to the north and south of the island, according to the command’s spokesman, Senior Colonel... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3097218/chinese-military-held-drills-near-taiwan-us-health-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3097218/chinese-military-held-drills-near-taiwan-us-health-secretary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2020 09:15:09 +0000 Taiwan has proposed increasing defence spending to record levels next year amid signals from Beijing that there will be no compromise in its sovereignty claim over the island. The announcement of a planned 10 per cent increase in the defence budget to NT$453.4 billion (US$15.4 billion) next year coincided with a call by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen to reinforce security ties with the United States. In a virtual address to the Washington-based Hudson Institute on Wednesday, Tsai said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097192/taiwan-president-signals-stronger-security-ties-us-counter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3097192/taiwan-president-signals-stronger-security-ties-us-counter?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Aug 2020 06:46:48 +0000 Taiwan for the first time tracked People’s Liberation Army fighters with surface-to-air missile radars on Monday, a tactic that could become more common in the future, an observer said. The Taiwanese defence ministry said it used the systems to tail and expel the PLA J-10 and J-11 fighter jets, which crossed the “median line” of the Taiwan Strait – the unofficial airspace boundary between the island and the mainland. The incident came as US Health Secretary Alex Azar started his landmark trip to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3096963/first-taiwans-missile-systems-track-pla-fighter-jets?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3096963/first-taiwans-missile-systems-track-pla-fighter-jets?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Aug 2020 13:30:07 +0000 Politics overshadowed health on Tuesday when Taiwan’s foreign minister used a landmark meeting with the visiting US health secretary to accuse Beijing of being a troublemaker for launching military and diplomatic threats against the self-ruled island. Joseph Wu, the island’s foreign minister, told US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar in Taipei that Taiwan had to deal with the persistent suppression from mainland China and at the same time tackle the trouble brought by the coronavirus... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096876/taiwan-takes-aim-beijings-suppression-thanks-good-friends?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096876/taiwan-takes-aim-beijings-suppression-thanks-good-friends?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Aug 2020 08:00:16 +0000 US Secretary of Health Alex Azar arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, making him the highest ranking American official to visit the island since 1979. The visit is also the most high-profile since the Taiwan Travel Act, which authorises higher level exchanges between US and Taiwanese officials, was passed in 2018 and Azar is due to meet President Tsai Ing-wen in the next couple of days. “I look forward to conveying President Trump’s support for Taiwan’s global health leadership and underscoring our... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096660/us-health-secretary-alex-azar-starts-taiwan-visit-and-says-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096660/us-health-secretary-alex-azar-starts-taiwan-visit-and-says-he?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 09 Aug 2020 15:00:18 +0000 China will conduct live-fire drills in the East China Sea in next two weeks amid rising tensions over a high-level US visit to Taiwan. Two live-fire military exercises will be held near Zhoushan, an archipelago some 550km (340 miles) north of Taiwan. A three-day drill will start on Tuesday, followed by a two-day drill starting on August 16, according to a notice released by the China Maritime Safety Administration on Thursday. The drills will take place every day between 6am and noon. Other... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096516/chinese-military-set-life-drills-amid-rising-tensions-over?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3096516/chinese-military-set-life-drills-amid-rising-tensions-over?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Aug 2020 12:00:20 +0000 The People’s Liberation Army has deployed more amphibious weapon systems in mainland China’s coastal cities across the strait from Taiwan in a sign that the armed forces are keen to play a key role in the long-standing mission to “reunify Taiwan”, according to an analyst. Recent satellite images published in the latest edition of the influential military magazine Kanwa Asian Defence show more Type 05 amphibious armoured vehicles have been deployed to the Eastern Theatre Command, which claims... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3096179/mainland-deploys-more-amphibious-weapons-along-coast-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3096179/mainland-deploys-more-amphibious-weapons-along-coast-long?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 05 Aug 2020 12:11:26 +0000 Taiwan will hold a state funeral for its late president Lee Teng-hui, a controversial political figure lauded on the self-ruled island as “Mr Democracy” but condemned by mainland China during his tenure as a separatist who should be “tossed into the dustbin of history”. Lee died at the age of 97 on Thursday after spending the previous five months in hospital in Taipei. President Tsai Ing-wen, who has described Lee as her mentor, ordered that the late leader be given a state burial to mark his... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3095597/lee-teng-hui-taiwans-mr-democracy-be-given-state-funeral?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3095597/lee-teng-hui-taiwans-mr-democracy-be-given-state-funeral?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jul 2020 13:10:36 +0000 This is the third in a series examining the growing tensions between China and the United States and how the situation could escalate into a full-blown military conflict. Read part one, part two, and part four here. Taiwan looms large as one of the most obvious flashpoints for an armed conflict between China and the United States. Beijing has made clear it regards the island as an integral part of China and any attempt to change its status is a red line. Unlike other areas of territorial... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3094177/how-beijings-red-lines-over-taiwan-could-lead-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3094177/how-beijings-red-lines-over-taiwan-could-lead-war-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:00:20 +0000 In a heated session of Taiwan’s legislature the self-governed island’s new envoy to the United States was grilled by an opposition legislator. “I want you to answer in English because I want to understand how you respond to the challenges and the questions that US friends and government officials raise to you,” the legislator said. “How [do] you envision Taiwan’s role in the US policy of rebalancing and pivoting towards Asia?” The envoy, King Pu-tsung, replied: “If you are in the United States,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3093681/new-taiwan-envoy-america-sees-potential-risks-and-rewards-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3093681/new-taiwan-envoy-america-sees-potential-risks-and-rewards-china?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Jul 2020 10:00:22 +0000 Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen sought to rally troops taking part in the island’s biggest annual military exercises on Thursday, vowing not to bow to Beijing’s pressure and to step up the island’s defences. “As I have said, national security rests on solid defence rather than kowtowing,” Tsai said, addressing forces in Jianan, Taichung, on the island’s central coast involved in the five-day Han Kuang exercises, which started on Monday. Beijing, which considers Taiwan a wayward province that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3093447/no-kowtowing-beijing-taiwanese-president-tsai-ing-wen-promises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3093447/no-kowtowing-beijing-taiwanese-president-tsai-ing-wen-promises?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 Jul 2020 10:30:12 +0000 Taiwan’s main opposition party fought with ruling party lawmakers to storm the parliament building and occupy the legislative chamber in protest against the nomination of a close aide to the president to a top-level watchdog. Lawmakers from both parties fought outside the building before a group of Kuomintang (KMT) legislators got into parliament’s main chamber, occupying the central podium seeking to prevent a confirmation hearing for former Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu to head the Control Yuan, an... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3093070/more-fighting-taiwan-opposition-again-occupies-parliament?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3093070/more-fighting-taiwan-opposition-again-occupies-parliament?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Jul 2020 05:15:57 +0000