-
TOPIC
 / location

Taiwan

Taiwan
Latest news, in-depth features and opinion on Taiwan, covering politics, economy, society and the island's relationship with mainland China.
The global shortage of commodity memory chips is not expected to be addressed any time soon. Photo: Shutterstock
Semiconductors

Memory chip crunch to persist even as Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron boost production

Major vendors are scrambling to expand production, but the scarcity of general-purpose memory chips is forecast to continue well into 2027.

Donald Trump

Critics in Taiwan question true cost of US deal hailed for tariff cut

videocam
China-Japan relations

Japan’s last 2 giant pandas set for early trip home to China as tensions spiral

videocam
Mainland China

Taiwanese military’s closed-door meeting draws ‘black box’ criticism

Taiwan’s defence minister delivers classified briefing on record US$39.5 billion budget in a bid to break opposition blockade.

videocam
12
Washington’s latest arms sale package to Taiwan includes the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or Himars. Photo: EPA-EFE
Diplomacy

China bids to host High Seas Treaty secretariat, even as US exits UN bodies

China puts forward Xiamen as potential future home of Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction secretariat as treaty comes into force.

videocam
8
Semiconductors

Explainer | Will Trump’s new industrial policy make the global memory chip shortage worse?

The US government warns major memory chipmakers to either pay 100 per cent duties or build their products in America.

4
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
China's military weapons

Type 075, the PLA amphibious ‘light aircraft carrier’ key to Taiwan strategy

The Hainan and its three sister ships are expected to form the backbone of the PLA Navy’s large-scale landing capability.

videocam
With a displacement of between 35,000 and 40,000 tonnes, the Type 075 Hainan is one of the largest amphibious assault ships in the world. Photo: Eugene Lee
China's military weapons

What the Fujian’s design flaws mean for China’s next aircraft carrier

Military magazine pinpoints design flaws in the Fujian carrier that significantly reduce its launch efficiency.

videocam
42
My Take

My Take | Taiwan has just sold out TSMC and half its chips industry to the US

The so-called silicon shield is bust as there will not be much left of the island to defend after the forced relocation of a significant chunk of industrial base under new tariff deal.

22
South China Sea

PLA sends drone into airspace near Taiwan-held Pratas Island in South China Sea

Southern Theatre Command cites ‘completely legitimate’ routine flight training, while Taipei calls it ‘provocative and irresponsible’ act.

videocam
18
Pratas, bridging the Taiwan Strait and the Bashi Channel, is the largest natural island in the South China Sea and commands a vital strategic position in its northern reaches. Photo: CNA
United Nations

Will US exit from world bodies deal fresh blow to Taiwan’s global profile push?

Opposition lawmakers fear the island’s international space will shrink still further without Washington’s voice in dozens of global bodies.

videocam
8
President Donald Trump’s order to withdraw the United States from multiple UN and other international organisations has caused consternation in Taiwan. Illustration: Reuters
Japan

In Japan, fears of China’s antibiotics dominance spur calls for self-sufficiency

China has reportedly imposed curbs on rare earth shipments to Japan, and there are concerns that these could be extended to medical products.

videocam
United States

Taipei hails US 15% tariffs ‘home run’ despite fears over US$500 billion cost

Deal risks gutting Taiwan’s semiconductor sector, opposition parties warn, as Beijing dubs it a plot to drain lifeblood of island’s industry.

videocam
22
China society

Outside In | We are speeding towards a demography of loneliness

The swarming sociability of family life is fading as one-person households and lonely deaths rise. Coping with loneliness is now a life skill.

videocam
Around the world, more people are growing up as only children; marrying late, if at all; having children late, if at all; and living alone in old age. Photo: Shutterstock
Taiwan economy

TSMC buys up land in Arizona as Taiwan pledges US$500 billion US tech investment

Chip giant TSMC plans to build a ‘gigafab cluster’ in the US, with Taiwan committing to US$500 billion investment under a new trade deal.

videocam
28
Morris Chang, founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), gives a speech at the company’s production site in Phoenix, Arizona, in 2022. The firm has now bought a second tract of land adjoining the site. Photo: AP
China-Canada relations

China-Canada accord, US-Taiwan chips deal, GDP slowdown

This week: China and Canada to cut tariffs, Taiwan agrees chips and tariff deal with US, China trade surplus hits record, and PBOC cuts relending rates. Next week, China economic growth may hit post-Covid low, Trump attends Davos, DeepSeek reaches first anniversary, and more.

US-China relations

China’s US envoy says world faces ‘stark choice’ as 2026 opens with instability

Xie Feng barely mentions Donald Trump by name but draws contrast between Washington’s recent actions and Chinese-led stability.

videocam
12
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Open Questions series

Open Questions | China wins if Venezuela ensnares Trump, Mearsheimer says

Maduro’s ‘kidnap’ and naked grab for Venezuela’s oil may leave US bogged down and less able to keep eye on China, political scientist John Mearsheimer says.

videocam
Illustration: Lau Ka-kuen
Hong Kong stock market

Hong Kong stocks slip on profit-taking after TSMC’s upbeat AI outlook

Hang Seng Index retreats despite TSMC’s earnings outlook bolstering confidence in AI-related demand and lifting risk appetite globally.

US-China relations

Lutnick warns Taipei to keep Trump ‘happy’ as US chip deal draws Beijing rebuke

Trade official says island must stay in Trump’s favour for protection, but says he still plans an April China visit amid good ties with Xi.

videocam
33
US-China relations

US bill for US$300 million arms sale to Taiwan passed in House

The 482-page bill outlining varying military assistance comes as Taipei announced that more US weapons sales to Taiwan are in the pipeline.

videocam
The Patriot missile system is deployed at a park in Taipei in July, 2025. A US bill approving US$300 million for Taiwan’s military is on its way to becoming law. Photo: AFP
US-China trade war

A Chinese tech hub eyes 3- to 7-nanometre chip breakthroughs to beat US curbs

Province’s five-year plan backs national push for tech independence – but can it succeed?

videocam
36
China is world’s largest chip manufacturer, demonstrating the country’s superiority in global supply chain. Photo: Shutterstock
European Union

Opinion | An internally split Europe can never fully engage China and Asia

The Brussels effect is real but so is Europe’s strategic subordination to the US. For China, and Asia, this means proceeding with pragmatism.

videocam
China-South Korea relations

South Korean leader takes ‘pragmatic approach’ to reset ties with China, Japan

The president made back-to-back trips to the neighbouring countries as tensions are running high between Beijing and Tokyo.

videocam
Hong Kong entertainment

Hong Kong Cantopop singer Raymond Lam cancels 2 concerts in Japan

Lam’s shows scheduled for January 31 and February 1 at the Tokyo Garden Theatre have been postponed indefinitely.

Hong Kong actor and singer Raymond Lam will not be performing in Tokyo. Photo: Handout
Cambodia

‘Not the end’: Cambodia keeps up scam crackdown after Chen Zhi sent to China

Phnom Penh signals zero tolerance for scam centres following the deportation of the Prince Group tycoon.

videocam
Guards escort accused scam boss Chen Zhi off a China Southern plane in Beijing on January 8, after his extradition from Cambodia. Photo: China’s Ministry of Public Security/AFP
Japan

Taiwan names DPP stalwart new cross-strait chief amid Beijing’s scepticism

Taipei touts former speaker of the island’s legislature as having ‘laid a solid foundation for Taiwan-Japan friendship’ in his previous role.

videocam
US-China relations

As I see it | The Chinese century may already be here

International competition will be won by nations with steady and realistic policies guided by a vision, not the ones indulging in cowboy militarism.

videocam
20
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Help preserve 120 years of quality journalism.
SUPPORT NOW
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement