Tag: Taiwan

Delegation Led by Mike Gallagher Says U.S. Support for Taiwan Is Firm

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Visiting U.S. lawmakers sought to assure Taiwan on Thursday that the United States would stand by it in the face of pressure from China, though a bill that includes support for the island has stalled in Congress, and divisions over aid for Ukraine have fanned wider questions about Washington’s commitment to its partners. “Today we’ve come as Democrats and Republicans to show bipartisan support for this partnership,” Representative Mike Gallagher, the Wisconsin Republican who is leading the congressional delegation to Taiwan, told President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei, the capital. Journalists…

Taiwan chases Chinese coast guard boat away from frontline islands amid heightened tensions

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Taiwan on Tuesday drove away a Chinese coast guard boat that entered waters near its sensitive frontline islands, one day after China’s coast guard boarded a Taiwanese tourist boat amid an escalating dispute sparked by a fatal capsize last week. A Chinese coast guard boat, numbered 8029, entered Taiwan’s waters near Kinmen on Tuesday morning, Taiwan’s coast guard said, adding that it dispatched a boat and used radio and broadcast to drive away its Chinese counterpart, which left the area an hour later. Taiwan’s coast guard said it will continue…

China coast guard boards Taiwan tourist boat in escalation of tensions

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China’s coast guard has boarded a Taiwanese tourist vessel, as tensions continue to escalate in the waters between China’s mainland and Taiwan’s Kinmen islands after a capsizing killed two people last week. The Taiwanese sight-seeing ferry King Xia was carrying 11 crew and 23 passengers on a tour around Kinmen’s main island on Monday when it was intercepted by two Chinese coast guard patrol vessels. Six officers boarded the King Xia and asked to inspect the documentation of the crew, before disembarking about 30 minutes later, Taiwan’s Coast Guard Authority…

Beijing condemns Taiwan after two Chinese fishers die in speedboat crash

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Beijing has condemned Taiwanese authorities after two Chinesefishers drowned while being chased by Taiwan’s coastguard off the coast of the Kinmen archipelago. The Chinese speedboat was carrying four people when it capsized on Wednesday, throwing all onboard into the water, Chinese and Taiwanese authorities said. “The malignant incident severely harmed the feelings of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China’s Taiwan affairs office, said in a statement. Taiwan’s coastguard said the speedboat had “illegally [entered] Taiwanese waters”, CNA news agency reported. The coastguard…

The power of dragon babies: could an auspicious year boost China’s ailing birthrate?

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Last week in Taiwan, a well-known obstetrician-gynaecologist posted a public service announcement on Facebook, urged aspiring parents not to waste any time. Dr Chih Chun Chen, a director of the Eugene Postpartum Nursing Care Center, told young couples to put 8 May in their calendar if they wanted to give birth to a dragon baby. “Sowing should be completed by May 15 of this year at the latest,” Chen said. “You have to work hard during the New Year!” This weekend marks the start of the Year of the Dragon…

‘A race against time’: Taiwan strives to root out China’s spies

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In November, a Taiwan court heard accusations that two serving soldiers had accepted bribes from Chinese agents to record a video declaring their loyalty to China and their intention to defect in the event of a war. The video reportedly made its way into Chinese propaganda materials. Weeks later, a conviction over a similar accusation was upheld against a retired army colonel. The colonel was found guilty of having accepted monthly payments totalling more than half a million Taiwan dollars (£12,500) to delay his retirement for years and serve as…

Prominent Australians urge Albanese government to adopt activist middle power role to head off war between US and China

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Australia must step up diplomatic efforts to “avert the horror of great power conflict” and reduce the risk of being dragged into a war between the US and China, according to 50 prominent Australians. The group, which includes the former foreign ministers Bob Carr and Gareth Evans, is urging the Albanese government to play an “activist middle power” role to reduce tensions between Australia’s top security ally and its biggest trading partner. In a statement published on Wednesday, the prominent Australians said they were “apprehensive these tensions may lead to…

China and the US are playing nice for now but flashpoints remain. They must agree to peace | Bob Carr and Gareth Evans

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The environment in the Asia-Pacific is less alarming than it was a year ago. Washington and Beijing are talking again. So are Canberra and Beijing. The United States is focused, externally, on the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war and, internally, on this year’s presidential election. China is preoccupied with stabilising and energising its domestic economy. For now Beijing has largely silenced its diplomatic wolf warriors, Washington has been less accusatory and neither side seems in the mood to escalate tensions – over Taiwan, trade or anything else. But none…

Tuvalu’s pro-Taiwan prime minister Kausea Natano loses seat in partial election results

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The pro-Taiwan leader of the Pacific islands nation of Tuvalu, Kausea Natano, has lost his seat according to partial election results. The vote is being closely watched by Taiwan, China and the United States, amid speculation the micronation could be poised to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing. Tuvalu, with a population of about 11,200 spread across nine islands, is one of three remaining Pacific allies of Taiwan, after Nauru cut ties this month and switched to Beijing, which had promised more development help. Kausea Natano had pledged to continue support…

Tuvalu goes to the polls in election watched by China and Taiwan

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Voting has started in the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, in a national election that could reverberate from China to Australia, amid a tussle for influence in the region. With just over 11,500 people spread across nine islands, Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations in the world, but the election for the 16-seat parliament was being closely watched. After the vote count, parliamentary negotiations will form a new government and elect the prime minister. Polls opened at 8am and were to close at 4pm. Prime minister Kausea Natano…